XMen: Avatar
by bakstar1996
Summary: The story about Rebecca Shaw,a distant blood relative of Sebastian Shaw who may be one of the youngest class five mutants to ever exist and has the terrible luck of being Shaw's next target as his ultimate weapon. Havok/OC
1. Gifted

He was sixteen when the man who would become my father received a visit from a menacingly powerful man. The man said his name was Sebastian Shaw and he was a distant blood relative. He explained that he had a deep interest in his family tree but there were only certain people he tracks down to meet.

Dad was curious and asked why he was chosen. Shaw said that Dad was gifted and, like Dad, he was gifted too. He told Dad about his philosophy and his plans to make the world a better place for people like them. He asked Dad to join his cause. Dad didn't look back.

Dad jumped head first into being Shaw's supporter; when he was eighteen he changed his last name to Shaw. He asked several times if he could be a full-fledged member of Shaw's group The Hellfire Club, but Shaw said Dad's telepathy wasn't strong enough. But whenever he could use him he would. Shaw never asked for Dad's services and Dad was too lazy to strengthen his telepathy. Yet Dad was still one of Shaw's biggest supporters.

Dad met my mom when they were both seniors in college and got married two years later. They moved to Commack, New York together. Two years after that, in 1996, I was born.

Dad always told me stories about these amazing people with special powers before I went to bed. He would tell me about people who could read others' minds and a man who could manipulate metal with a twitch of his hand. But the man he told me the most about was a man who he told me was "the most powerful man alive." He could absorb the energy of anything, making him completely indestructible. And the energy he did absorb he could throw back as his own by wiggling his finger. Dad also told me he used the excess energy to stop aging.

I was always fascinated by the energy man. I wished that I could be like him one day.

When I was five, I was in my backyard one afternoon when the wind picked up, blowing my toys away.

"No wind, stop!" I waved my hands in the air and suddenly the wind blew in the opposite direction. I paused, then waved my hands toward my face and a gust of wind knocked me off my behind and I flipped onto my stomach. It was then I realized I was gifted too.


	2. Unlimited

The next day I tried some new things. I found that I was drawn to certain things more than others, so I began experimenting with those. I tried to wave my hand around some candles Mom had lit in her bedroom. The flames swayed like a wind had come through the window. I smiled.

I tried to wave my hands near everything. I waved around every inanimate and animate object to see what would happen. The next time something happened was in the bathtub. I was splashing around when I noticed the water was following my hand. The bubbles fell off the water as if the water was butter and only the pure blue followed my hand in a swirly pattern. I smiled and continued to play around until it got too cold to bear. I began to practice with my new found powers, trying to see what I could do. I found out I was a lot more powerful than Dad had originally thought. He said I was one of the strongest mutants he had ever seen. I thought that was cool, but I didn't think he knew many mutants. Every day I would practice with my powers, working on making them better.

The second time something happened was again in the backyard. Mom had recently made a garden plot which lined the edge of our house. She used small, black, oval rocks as the border. I was sitting in front of the garden, admiring the newly blossomed roses when I reached my hand out to touch one of the red petals. As my hand moved forward, one of the rocks shifted toward the soil. As my hand reached out further, the rock continued to move as well until it hit the stem of the flower and I stopped.

I was overjoyed when I realized my powers weren't limited to one talent. I had four.

I jumped up and ran into the house. I pulled my dad from the couch and dragged him outside.

"Daddy, look! Look!" I pointed at the misplaced rock with vigor, jumping up and down.

"Rebecca, picking up one of Mommy's rocks is not important. You should be practicing with your mutation. Play with air, water and fire- that's important."

"But Dad, this is part of my powers! I didn't touch it."

Dad's eyes widened and he smiled widely. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Can you do it for me?" He crouched next to me and touched my shoulder.

I looked toward the ground.

"I don't know. I didn't try to do it before. It just happened."

"You showed me the others; you performed those more than once. You can do it. You have the power."

Dad smiled again. But this time it was the smile that was only brought up when he talked about my mutation.

I sat on my knees in front of the garden and held my hand out, palm down. I reached out toward me. Inch by inch the rock slid closer until it was in its original position.

I looked up. Dad just stood there, his eyes fixated on the rock.

"Dad?" I whispered, as if not to wake him from a nap.

"I have to make a phone call."

He turned away from me and almost skipped into the house with joy. After a minute, I followed him. I stood behind the kitchen wall and listened.

"She is much stronger than I had ever expected. The four elements, Shaw! She can control the four elements!"

Dad listened. "But you've got to listen to me! I know you usually wait until sixteen to meet them, but Shaw, she could be the one! She could be your answer. And who knows, under your tutelage she could unleash so much more."

Dad listened some more and then smiled.

"Thank you, Shaw. I promise you, you won't be disappointed."

He hung up the phone and I ran back outside. After a minute, he came back out as well.

"Who'd you call?" I asked as if I knew nothing.

Dad tilted his head and crossed his arms. "I know you were listening," he said. "But nice try singing the alphabet to try and cover your thoughts. Next time attempt something a little less obvious."

I smiled, guilty. "So who's Shaw?"

"His name is Sebastian. He's your uncle."

"But you and Mommy don't have any brothers."

"No, but he is a part of our family. He's a more distant relative."

"Oh."

"He's coming for a visit. He wants to meet you."

"Why did you tell him about my powers?"

"Well…"

"Hey, Sweetie Pie!"

Mom stood at the doorway, smiling. The wind blew her auburn hair away from her face and her bright blue eyes glistened in the sunlight. People told me I looked like her all the time. We had the same almond-shaped face, and when we smiled we looked almost identical.

"Mommy!" I got up from the grass and ran up the stairs to her. She grabbed me and picked me up, squeezing me in a tight hug.

"Oh, I'll never get enough of those hugs," she said.

I laughed lightly, slightly embarrassed.

"Mom, guess what?" I asked.

"What?" she smiled largely.

"I can move rocks."

She looked at me for a second and the look in her eyes adjusted when she figured out what I meant.

"That's great, Honey!" She squeezed me again.

"That's very cool."

"Daddy says I can control the Four Elements."

"That's great, Becca. But you have to know that there is more to you than just your mutation."

"I know. You tell me every day."

"Yeah, and I won't stop telling you until the day I die."

She squeezed me again, put me down and retreated into the house to start dinner.

I always got a sense of warmth and love from her that I never got from anyone else. Her love seemed deeper, almost better than anyone else's. I had a special bond with her that no one could take away.

Once Mom left, Dad knelt back down next to me.

"You should practice some more," he said. "Sebastian would want you to be as strong as you can be."

"But why, Dad? Why does he want to meet me?"

"Because you're special."

He saw the apprehension and slight fear in my eyes. I lowered my head.

"I think you'll like him," he said.

"No, he sounds scary."

"No, no. He's anything but. Do you want to know why I think you'll like him so much?"

I picked my head up slightly, my curiosity spiking.

"Why?"

"Because the man who can absorb energy- who can't be killed- is him."

My eyes widened. "He's the energy man?"

Dad chuckled. "Yes."

I began to smile again. "That's so cool!"

I ran past Dad and toward the house. Dad called after me, jumping to his feet. I didn't listen.

"Mom! Mommy guess what?" I said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "The energy man is coming tomorrow!"

"The energy man?" She turned to look at me.

Then, Dad ran in, out of breath. Mom read his face like a page from one of her many novels. She placed the knife down and crossed her arms.

"He's coming?" she said with an angered tone.

"She's excited, Julia! Relax," said Dad.

"Does she know why he wants to meet her? Does she know he's a ruthless, heartless man?"

"I think you're blowing this way out of proportion…"

"He will destroy our daughter, John! I know why he's coming to see her while she's still so young! You don't need to be a mutant to figure that out."

I excused myself at that point and ran upstairs to my room. Even through the closed door, I could still hear their voices rising throughout the house. I tried not to focus on what they were arguing about and eventually disappeared into my own world.


	3. I'll Never Let Anything Happen to You

About twenty minutes later the yelling stopped and I ventured back down stairs. At dinner, Mom and Dad barely spoke but they put on a happy façade for me. They told me Shaw was still coming, but Mom wanted to be there to make sure he didn't cross any lines. I didn't know what that meant and I didn't ask.

That night I had trouble sleeping, my nerves about tomorrow's guest creeping up on me. After two hours of just lying in bed, I walked over to my parents' room. I stood next to Mom's side of the bed and gently touched the blanket.

With one touch, Mom slowly woke up and looked at me.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice phlegmy.

"I can't sleep," I whispered.

"Bad dream?"

I put my head down. "No."

"Then what is it?"

I took a pause. "I'm nervous."

"Nervous? About what?"

She took her head off the pillow and supported herself on her elbow.

"About tomorrow," I said.

She looked at me with a regretful face and then sat up.

"Come on, let's not wake Daddy."

She stood from her bed and took my hand. She led me out of her room and back into mine. She opened the covers and motioned me to get in. I did what she asked and then she went under the covers with me, snuggling up close.

"You know I'm scared too," she said softly.

I craned my neck to see her face. "Really?"

"Yeah. Sebastian Shaw is a very powerful man."

"I know. Daddy says he can't die."

"Becca, not that kind of powerful. The kind of powerful where he can do and get whatever he wants."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"When the person is bad, yes."

"Is the energy man bad?"

She took a deep sigh and began to run her fingers through my hair.

Just know that I will never let anything happen to you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you."

"I know.

"I love you, Baby."

"I love you too."

She gave me a small squeeze and I snuggled into her chest, quickly falling asleep.


	4. Hardly

Hey guys, I wanted to say sorry for the delayed posting; I started school :p But here it is! Reviews would be greatly appreciated!

The next morning, I woke up to the sunlight seeping through my window. Mom was still with me, cuddling me in her arms. Her chest moved rhythmically up and down as she slept soundly. I didn't want to wake her so I laid in her arms, looking out the window.

About ten minutes after I had woken up, Dad creaked the door open. I pretended to be asleep.

I listened for him to come toward the bed, but instead I heard him leave the room. A minute later, he came back and he stood a foot away from the bed. I heard the click of a camera as he took a picture. He placed the camera on my dresser, then sat down on the bed.

"Hey, girls," he said softly.

Mom moaned and I heard the pillow readjust as she turned her head. I blinked a few times, acting as if I had just woken up.

"Julia," said Dad. "It's time to get up."

Mom moaned again, but this time she picked her head up.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"It's eight-thirty. Sebastian is coming at nine."

I had forgotten about our upcoming visitor until Dad brought it up. All of the nerves I had managed to get rid of to go to sleep came rushing back with a vengeance. I felt myself go cold.

Mom slowly got up and left to take a shower. Dad went into my closet and picked out of one of my nicer outfits for me to wear.

When he left the room, I put the outfit back and took out some shorts and a t-shirt. I wanted to be comfortable, knowing Dad would make me show off.

When I came downstairs, Dad looked at me with confusion.

"You don't think I took that dress out for me to wear, do you?" he asked me.

"No." I crossed my arms, almost insulted. "I want to be comfortable."

"But you need to look nice for…"

"She looks beautiful, John," said Mom as she walked into the room. "You're forcing her to do this. Let her wear whatever she wants."

At that moment, there was a strong rap at the door. I ran behind Mom and she put her arm around me like a safety bar. Dad almost sprinted to the door and opened it with a large grin on his face.

"Hello, John," a man said.

The man's voice was fairly deep and he projected it well, letting his presence known.

"Hi, Sebastian. I'm glad you came," said Dad.

"I hope you don't mind but I brought a colleague."

"Oh no, not at all. It's nice to meet you…"

"Castillo," a young woman's voice answered back.

There was a slight pause and then Dad shuffled out of the doorway.

"Come in," he said.

Shaw and Castillo's shoes clacked loudly on the wooden floor as they approached us in the den. I sank further behind Mom. She clutched me tighter.

When Shaw walked into the room he emanated power. He wore a dark red, collared shirt and had a slick, black jacket over it. His black pants were pressed and crisp and his black shoes shined with polish, reminding me of a Nazi's boot.

The woman had a very short black top on that almost resembled a bra. Her pants went to her mid-thigh and tattoos covered her arms. She had a small silver ball coming out of her lip and she smiled with excitement.

"You remember my wife, Julia," said Dad.

"Yes, I do. One of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen."

"Shaw." Mom spoke politely but there was a slight angry undertone.

Shaw took Mom's hand and kissed it.

"Hey!" I shouted from behind her. Shaw looked around her and I peeked my head out.

"Mommy and Daddy are married! You can't kiss her."

He laughed and knelt down to her level. "I'm sorry," he said. "I won't do it again."

"Good."

He smiled at me. "You must be Rebecca."

I nodded.

"I'm Sebastian Shaw. "

He held out his large hand. I looked at Mom and she smiled. I put my hand in his and shook.

"You have very warm hands," he said.

"She can create fire," said Dad. "The heat runs in her veins so her temperature runs a few degrees higher than normal."

"That's very nice." Shaw looked at me again.

"I hear you can do amazing things.

I blushed. "Yeah, but you're the energy man."

He tilted his head. "Energy man?

"Daddy says you can control energy."

"Yes, I can."

I motioned him to lean forward and he did. I put my mouth near his ear.

"Can I see?" I whispered.

He chuckled. "Soon."

He stood back up and looked at Castillo.

"She's one of the most powerful mutants I've ever come across," she said.

"Class five?" asked Shaw.

She nodded. I looked over and Dad was beaming.

"Excuse me, what?" asked Mom. "Class five?

"There are different classes of mutants based on the strength of their powers," explained Castillo. "Class five is the strongest. There are only a handful on the planet."

"And how do you know she's a class five?"

"I can sense who is a mutant, what their power is and how strong they are."

"And she's never been wrong," added Shaw.

Mom nodded slowly in understanding.

"So," said Shaw. "Should we get started?"

"I want to see your powers," I said, softly.

"Ill show you but you have to show me yours first."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm nervous."

He looked at me almost lovingly.

"How about we use our powers at the same time?"

I looked down. "How?"

"You're not going to do anything dangerous, right?" asked Mom.

Shaw smiled. "She's just a little girl. We're not going to hurt her."

We walked outside to the backyard. He told me to stand on one side and he would stand on the other.

"Which element is easiest for you?" asked Shaw.

"Fire or air," I said, timidly. "I can't create water and I can only lift a pebble."

"So far," he said, smiling. "You'll strengthen."

I looked down, blushing.

"I say use fire," he said. "Show me what you can do."

I looked over at Mom and she smiled softly, encouraging me to go ahead. I took a deep breath and focused on the warmth in my veins. I felt all of the warmth move down to my hands. I put the heels of my hands together and fire shot out from both of my palms, creating one large fire stream.

Shaw beamed as he watched the fire hurdle toward him. He put his hands in front of his chest and as the fire hit his hands it disappeared. I stopped streaming the fire and just watched Shaw. He absorbed the fire into his body as it shot toward him, never worrying that there was too much. When the last bit of fire was gone, I noticed Shaw's body became distorted as he absorbed it.

He had three hands and his chest seemed to enlarge. But when he finished absorbing, his hands morphed back to normal and his chest readjusted.

"Whoa," I said. "That was cool."

Shaw smiled. "That was nothing."

I looked over at Mom and Dad. Dad was staring at Shaw with awe, his jaw slacking open. Mom was looking at me with a concerned look on her face. I looked back at Shaw.

"Now can I see you control air?" he asked. He didn't mention what he thought about my fire. I got slightly annoyed.

I spread my legs about shoulder width apart and took another deep breath. I let my hands sit at my sides, my fingers spread so the air could flow freely. I lifted my right hand, raising it so it was level with my shoulder. Then I lifted my left hand, holding it away from me and had my palm face me.

Then I pushed my two hands toward each other. They brushed as my right hand thrust forward and my left hand came toward my chest. The air collected by my left hand merged into the stream of air from my right hand, adding extra power and mass to the wave.

I grunted as my hand fully extended and the wave of air wooshed toward Shaw. He smirked and once again absorbed my attack as if it was just a slight breeze. I smiled, waiting for a compliment.

"Now try earth," he said.

I felt my heart begin to speed up and my breathing became deeper as I got more annoyed that he never he even acknowledged what I did.

I looked over to the garden and held both hands out. My arms shook as I tried to get the rocks to obey my commands. Slowly, they lifted off the ground and levitated in front of me. Because I was angry, I fisted my hands and pushed my arms forward, sending two of the rocks forward to Shaw. They raced forward at an incredible speed, one I had never achieved before.

He absorbed the energy easily, the rocks bouncing lightly off his chest lightly.

I suddenly wanted to nothing more than beat him at his own game; to create something he couldn't absorb.

I took the two remaining rocks and levitated them above my hands. I concentrated deeply and the two oval rocks were now one large, flat disk. I stared at my creation, proud of doing something I had never done so easily. It was almost natural.

I looked at Shaw and he was beaming. I began to twirl the disk around, captivating Shaw's attention. With my left hand, I began to move another rock across the grass. Once it was behind him I raised it to his head. Then, with a flick of my wrist, it knocked into the base of his neck. He turned around and I shot the disk.

By the time he turned around, he had no time to position himself and the disk hit him, knocking him into the fence. I laughed and raised my hands in victory. Shaw sat on the ground, laughing as well.

"Very resourceful," he said. He stood and shook his pants off. "You're very smart for your age."

"My teacher says that too," I said, smiling widely.

He walked over to my parents and I followed suit.

"Do you want to see her bend water as well?" asked Dad, eagerly.

"I think I've seen enough," said Shaw. "Can we go talk inside?"

Without letting them answer, Shaw walked into the house. We all began to follow. As we were walking, Mom took my hand.

"You did great," she said, smiling.

I could tell in her eyes she was worried, but about what I wasn't sure.

Shaw stopped once he was in the living room. "Do you mind if we speak privately?" he asked.

"No, not at all," said Dad.

He turned to me. "Rebecca, why don't you go rest in your room."

"But I'm not tired."

"Becca, sweetie, let the adults talk," said Mom.

I sighed and walked upstairs. Because the floor was thick, I had a hard time hearing what they were saying. I opened the door, but they were speaking so low I couldn't hear in the hallway either. I began to walk methodically toward the stairs, making sure my feet didn't make the wood floor creak. I walked down the stairs one at a time and finally got to the bottom.

I snuck over to the wall next to the archway that led into the living room.

"I'm so glad you're impressed," said Dad.

"So am I," said Shaw. "I was worried this would be a wasted trip."

"I would never waste your time."

I heard Mom sigh. "So you saw her powers," she said. "Is that all?"

Shaw laughed a breathy laugh.

"Hardly."


	5. What Do You Really Want?

I know it's really short! But there's a reason, I promise! Keep the reviews coming, thanks!

"You're daughter needs a teacher," said Shaw. "Someone to help her realize her full potential."

"She has us," said Mom, defiantly.

"I know you two are very supportive. But you cannot teach her the skills she needs to be able to harness her powers."

I looked around the wall, but made sure no one saw me.

"What are you talking about?" Mom crossed her arms, insulted.

"John is a telepath." The strategies to control a mental ability are very different from the strategies needed to control a physical one."

"Maybe she could create her own way to control it. If she works because of her will to do well she could accomplish anything she wants."

"That's very sweet," said Shaw. "But that won't work. She won't be a naïve young child forever."

"Shaw, what is it that you really want?"

"I want you to let your daughter come with me."


	6. All I Could See Was Yellow

"Excuse me?" Mom stood.

"I can help her." Shaw remained calm.

"No. No way am I letting you take _my _daughter. I know what you can do Shaw and I'm not letting you destroy her!"

"Julia, think about it," said Dad, tentatively. "Her and Shaw could do great things together.

"John, are you mad? He wants to take her away from us!"

"I trust him." Dad's voice became more authoritative.

"Mom's jaw nearly dropped at Dad's statement. I looked over and Shaw had this calm but agitated look on his face. It was like he wanted the process to be easy but in the back of his mind he knew it wouldn't be.

"I'm sorry John. I know you idolize Shaw like he is some sort of god but that doesn't mean you hand your daughter over to him. Besides, she my daughter as well. I have a say in this."

Dad's face was red. "Julia, I am her father!" he screamed. "I make the final decision here. She's going."

Anger began to suddenly rage through me and I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to leave Mom and I didn't know Shaw enough to think that running off with him was anything less than kidnapping. My hands began to ache. I barged into the room before Mom could respond.

"You're making me go with him?" I shouted. I balled up my hands tightly. "You can't let me go. You're supposed to love me and never leave me!"

My hands began to get very hot. Mom tried to speak but I was on a roll.

"Mom's not going to let me go; she's not! She loves me! I'm not going!"

The memory of my dad screaming at her that I was leaving replayed over and over in my mind. My hands began to burn and I couldn't hold it any longer. Everything turned yellow as a bright yellow film came across my eyes. I snapped my palms open and the energy released itself in a godly form.

Lightning bolts came shooting out of my hands and began to spasm. I heard the whoosh as flames erupted behind me and the screams from my parents. A ring of lightning formed around me, blocking anyone from getting to me.

I heard the front door being ripped open as everyone tried to get out.

Then I heard a scream louder and more painful than I had ever heard. I could tell who it was. Even through the harsh scream her soft tone came through.

Once I heard the scream, the pain in my hands slowly dissipated and the lightning worked its way back deep into my core from where it had escaped. The yellow film washed away from my eyes and I came back to myself.

I gasped for a deep intake of air but all I got was smoke. I coughed and looked around in horror. The entire den and part of the kitchen were engulfed in flames. I ran into the kitchen and turned on the sink. I pushed the lever as far as it would go and pulled the water into the grasp. I ran back into the den and put out the flames that were creeping toward the other parts of the house. Then I ran back and put out the flames in the kitchen.

I began to put the flames out in the den. I finished the center of the room and something caught my eye.

A figure was lying in the center of the floor. I walked closer and the auburn hair glistened in the light of the flames. I ran over and dropped over to my knees.

"Mom?"

Her lifeless eyes stared up at me.

I screamed into the air and coughed back smoke.

Then, a large man ran into the room. He was wearing a big, black jacket with electric yellow accents and a large black hat with a number on it.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked.

"You have to help! You have to help my mom!" I pleaded.

He looked down and immediately knew what my young mind wouldn't accept.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here."

I coughed again, louder this time. "What about my mom? You have to help her!"

He picked me up. I began to kick at his thighs.

"No, what are you doing?" I screamed until the screams turned to tears, and I began to bawl on his shoulder.

The sunshine hurt my eyes as the fireman rushed me outside. Other fireman rushed passed us toward the house with a long hose tossed over their shoulder. As one passed, my fireman grabbed his shoulder.

"There's a D.O.A. in there," he said.

The other fireman nodded and ran inside.

I looked up and Dad, Shaw and Castillo were standing at the end of the driveway. Dad looked panicked as he looked for Mom and saw my tears. A fireman came up to him and said something, taking his hat off. Dad crumbled to the ground.

Shaw put his hand on my Dad's shoulder, but he never took his eyes off of me. He looked at me as if I was his golden ticket to all of his dreams. Even from far away, I could tell his eyes were not full of fear or sadness, but pure elation.

The fireman brought me over to an ambulance and a medic placed me on a stretcher.

"You have to save my mom!" I screamed.

"Ok, ok," said the woman. "We'll do our best but we have to take care of you first."

She put a clear, plastic mask over my face that flooded my system with oxygen.

I watched everything go on around me. The fire was quenched pretty quickly and some medics went in with a stretcher. A couple minutes later, they came out.

A body was on the bed, covered by a black cloth. Dad ran over to it and walked with her to one of the trucks, stumbling on every other step.

I stared at my dad in horror, finally realizing what had happened. Mom had died. And I had killed her.


	7. Complete Control

After the chaos was settled, the fire was deemed electrical. They told is we could move back in a couple of weeks when the damaged was fixed. Shaw left that afternoon. He told Dad I was too unstable for him to take me but he would be watching. So that night we checked into a hotel. Dad and I sat on our separate beds, crying.

I vowed to myself that night that I would never lose control like that again. I vowed that I would never use my powers again.

For months, I didn't use my powers. I kept them locked deep inside my core. Dad asked me why I hadn't used them and I explained.

"I killed Mom with my powers," I said. "I'm not going to hurt anyone ever again."

That night I heard Dad on the phone. He spoke for a long time, whispering violently into the receiver. Later, he came up to my room.

"Rebecca?"

"Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you."

He walked slowly into my room. My room hadn't changed since the day Mom died. Everything was in the same exact place. I stared at the camera on my dresser. Dad sat next to me cautiously.

"You didn't kill your mother," he said.

"What?"

"You didn't. Sebastian old me that he saw her running toward you to try and save you from yourself. She wanted to try and calm you down. She knew she would be the only one that had a chance to."

"So? She wouldn't be dead if the lightning didn't happen!"

"Rebecca, it's not your fault."

My mind raced as I tried to comprehend. "I didn't kill her?" I asked, almost in shock.

"No." Dad swallowed hard. "She sacrificed herself to save you."

I looked back at the camera and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. But my powers killed her."

I looked down at my neck and grasped the necklace hanging from it. It was a dark gold chain, not shiny or bright. On the end of the chain was a locket in the shape of a heart. Mom gave it to me for my fifth birthday. I opened the heart. Inside it was the picture Dad took the morning Mom died of the two of us sleeping together. I hadn't taken the necklace off since the day the picture was inserted.

"I know you miss her," he said. "But you shouldn't blame yourself- your powers took over you that day."

"You think so?"

"I know so. You wouldn't hurt somebody if you had control. It's not in your DNA."

I desperately wanted to believe him; to take some of the pain I felt and throw it on someone else. Out of my want to truly believe it, I began to.

A couple weeks later, I had placed all of my blame and anger about my mom's death on Shaw. If he wasn't there and hadn't asked to take me away, Mom would still be here.

I began to use my powers again, but I made sure I trained more vigorously. I wanted complete control so nothing like what happened that day would ever happen again. The lightning never resurfaced, so I assumed that it only occurred when I was in a pure state of absolute rage.

I began to practice again in my backyard every day for three hours. Dad would watch me from the window and wouldn't take his eyes off of me until I came inside the house. Every time I came back inside, he would be dialing a number on the phone. It was the same one every time. It was Shaw's.

This angered me to my core and I wanted to burn all of the phones to ashes. But I stayed in control.

I couldn't do anything about him watching me so I only did basic training when he was around. But after school when he wasn't back from work yet, I would do much more intricate maneuvers.

Late at night on the weekends, around two in the morning, I would sneak out. I figured out how to propel myself with air like a jet pack so I would climb out of my window and float myself just outside of the fence of our yard. Then, I would go to the end of the block where there was a park. Hidden deep inside the park was a large but shallow lake. I would practice water bending there for a couple of hours.

This spy-like schedule continued for two years until I unlocked something major.


	8. Going to the Underground

**Age: 7**

It was a Thursday afternoon and I was in the backyard training. Dad wasn't home yet so I was practicing the more difficult moves I had created.

I was practicing earth, which turned out to be the more difficult element of the four. Since the day Shaw came, I had continued to fist my hands while bending earth as it seemed to make me stronger and more in control. But I was having a difficult time bringing the earth up out of the ground.

I held a rigorous trial and error session, trying to find an easier and more effective way to take earth out of the ground. I was getting frustrated. My breathing quickened and my hands were permanently fisted. I had tried about eighteen different ways and nothing seemed to work.

"Come on," I growled at the soil.

Then, I thought of another idea. I let my arms dangle at my side and my palms down, feeling the earth pulling at them.

Then in one swift movement I brought my arms up above my head. I went into shock as my body was suddenly underground. I was in a tight cocoon of earth and it squeezed against my body.

I thought it would be difficult to move, but as I tried to push my arms down the earth just moved along with them and my arms came in front of me. I smiled. I began to mess around and I ended up creating an underground dome.

It was sixteen feet wide and about twelve feet long. As I sat there, I came up with the idea of using it as an underground training center.

So every day before Dad got home I would go underground and train. I would throw air around the room and I had no reason to pull earth up because it was all around me (I knew I would have to figure out that skill at some point, but for the time I was content). When I practiced fire, I would create holes in the wall of my dome, throw the fire into it after a sequence of different hand movements and then shut the hole to quench the fire.

I had created moves with my hands to make different things happen with each element. I could make tornados and large waves with air as well as some shapes for fun. Fire was the most fun for me which I could manipulate to create fire funnels, arches of flames and anything else my imagination came up with. I had a blast.

I would continue to go the lake at night, however, because I needed more water to train than I could carry in a bucket.

I would keep track of time so I would be back in the house by the time Dad got home. But on the weekends, I had a much more difficult time keeping him out of my loop. He was always watching me through the window so I never had a minute to escape. So, I began to set an alarm for six-forty-five in the morning. I would get up before Dad and I would leave a note saying I was going over to a friend's house on the kitchen table.

Then I would go outside to my cave. Dad fell for it for a while, but after a couple of weeks he started to get suspicious. I had been using the same note and never thought to mix up my friends' names every so often.

So, he called my friend's house one day and her mom was very confused when he asked if I was there. Dad tried to read my mind and figure out what I was up to. But I began to master the kill of masking my thoughts.

I would put my current thoughts in the back of mind. Then, I would create a barrier of other, less important thoughts. I would think about my current crush or, to make my Dad less suspicious, I would think about when I thought Shaw would be coming back. In my made up thoughts, I made Dad believe that the reason I was training was to be ready for when Shaw returned for me, to make sure I didn't disappoint him. I laughed at the absurdity but Dad being proud that I was willing to turn myself over to Shaw meant he left me alone on the matter.

I would occasionally let him see me do a move or two, but I would change the setting by imagining myself in the small forest behind my house.

I continued to condition myself for another two years – never finding an easier way to bring the earth out of the ground yet-and I slowly got better, stronger and more in control. But it wasn't until I was nine that I found my way to the ultimate control of my powers.


	9. My Hands Are Everything

My hands are everything. Without them, my powers would be nothing. To keep my hands loose, I would continuously stretch them out throughout the day. I flexed them as far as they would go and then stretch out my fingers by curling and uncurling them three times. I still do this today.

By the time I was nine, I had already made several hand movements and sequences to create different thing with each element. Some were as simple as creating an air ball and some were very complex like clapping the horizontally positioned heels of my hands together, creating a wave of air and then pulling anything in the wave toward me as I snapped my hands toward my chest.

But there was always something missing. Even though I had managed to create some intricate moves, I always felt off to myself; never completely in control. The only way I could describe it is that it was as if my powers still had some control over me, not the other way around. I wanted this feeling to disappear; to have the ultimate control.

I knew getting this would end up having to do with my hands. If anything was the key to my complete control of my powers, it would be them. I resorted to another trial and error session, working for months to find the hand positions that gave me the maximum control I could have.

Six months after I began working, I finally had my system.

Air was the first element that I figured out. If I kept my palms out and my fingers spread so the air could flow freely, all of the air in my grasp would follow my hands' complex maneuvers and would never waver.

Then came fire. My palm faced the sky and my fingers were flat and together, not an inch of space between them. When I threw a stream of fire my arm would snap from the left to the right, and my left hand would stop my arm when it was aligned with the center of my chest to manage my control of the attack. When I stopped my arm, it would be bent ever so slightly at the elbow so I wouldn't hyperextend it. The fire that was produced traveled in a straight line or perfectly formed arc, not one spark out of formation.

Water was the next element I figured out, and it was one of the simpler hand movements of the four. All I had to do was hold my hand out and curve my fingers as if I was holding a ball with my fingertips. It was the most natural of the hand positions, and I found that if I moved my arms and hands in a slow, flowing movement the water would follow suit.

Finally, I solved my problem with earth. One day, I had the crazy idea to try and use my feet. It was then I discovered that when I stomped on the ground, a chunk of earth rose jaggedly out of the soil. After some more trials, I realized that the harder I stomped, the larger the chunk would be. Once the earth was in the air, I would fist my hand and it would obey my every command. I would throw the rock, and while it was flying in the air, I would turn my hand and it would shape into any form I pushed it into. If I wanted its course to turn, I moved my entire arm.

After four years, I had finally reached my inner peace and achieved my goal of reaching the level of control I wanted. I felt my most confident that day, and for the next six years that confidence stayed with me. Shaw stayed in touch with my father, but he never came. It wasn't until my fifteenth birthday when my quiet, slightly normal life came to a crashing halt.


	10. Letting its Presence Known

**I know I didn't mention this in the last chapter, but I just thought of this and think it's pretty cool. So I hope you enjoy!**

As I continued to train, I found that I wasn't just drawn to the elements I could control but I could sense out where a large quantity of an element was. I knew just from my senses that there was a lake five miles away from the house. I knew when someone lit their fireplace in the neighborhood and I was always aware of how much air and earth was around me and whether the amount increased or decreased.

But when I was thirteen, I realized that something else was letting its presence known. Every time I passed anything metal it called out to me. I did some research.

"Is it true that all metal has tiny bits of earth left in it after processing?" I asked my science teacher for confirmation.

"Yes it is. Why?"

"Just wondering."

After school that day, I found a metal box someone had put in their recycling bin. I took it home and went into the backyard. I went into my dome and placed the box in the center of the floor. I took a deep breath and concentrated, closing my eyes. My hands shook as I tried to grasp the earth locked deep inside the processed metal. When I locked in, I fisted my hand and felt the bits come into my control. I moved my hands as if I was bending earth and I could hear the squeaks of the metal moving unnaturally.

When I opened my eyes, the box was a perfect sphere.


	11. I Think She's Ready

It was two days after my fifteenth birthday. I was practicing in my backyard, doing my basic maneuvers that I'm sure my dad became bored with watching. Yet, he continued to watch, waiting for me to do something incredible.

I was in a particularly good mood that day, enjoying my new presents I had gotten just a couple days earlier. So, I decided to spread some happiness and give Dad something cool to look at.

I pulled one of my earlier creations out of my repertoire and began to set myself up. Then, I moved my arms in a circle around my body and a circle of fire formed around me. Then I raised my arms up and the circle became a column, working its way into the sky. I pushed my hands forward one at a time, several times, and little arms shot out of the column and created smaller circles around it.

I stood in the middle of the cylinder, admiring the gorgeous lights. This maneuver had no attack purposes - I just thought it looked cool. I slowly brought the fire back down to my palms and fisted my hands, quenching the fire.

I looked over and Dad's jaw was on the floor. This was probably the most complex move I had let him see, but it was simple compared to what I was working on currently. I smiled at him and walked inside the house, giving him the signal that I was done for the night.

A half-an-hour later I heard my Dad speaking excitedly into the phone. I sat in the den and could easily hear what was going on.

"You should have seen it!" he marveled. "It was unbelievable."

I heard the soft tap of the plastic phone on the counter as Dad set it down to reach for something in the fridge. He put it on speaker phone.

"I believe she may be ready." Shaw's deep, powerful voice resonated from the other line. "Her powers have seemed to strengthen over time and from what you're telling me, I think it's time."

My heart sank when I heard this, but I continued to listen.

"I doubt she is telling you everything," he continued. "She can't just go from basic training to something that advanced. She's been training much harder than you think. She's a smart girl."

Dad then picked the phone back up and took it off speaker, closing the fridge and coming back into the den. I walked out of the room.


	12. A Beloved Wife and Mother

Around twilight, I took my bouquet of ten roses wrapped in a red ribbon and left the house. I walked down the street to the edge of the main part of town. There, was a graveyard filled with elegant gravestones of all shapes and sizes. I walked toward the middle and stopped in front of one of the smaller plaques.

It was a small but pretty gravestone that was framed by my most recent bouquets. I sat down in front of it and put my new bouquet in place of one that was beginning to wilt. My eyes brushed across the stone and read the engraving. _Julia Shaw_. _1971-2001_. _A beloved wife and mother_. I smiled at it and swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears collecting in my eyes from welling over.

"Hi Mom," I said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday. A lot has been going on." I paused. "No, it's not boys. Something much worse."

I could hear Mom's voice in my head, responding back to me.

"I've heard Dad on the phone with Shaw a lot recently. I think he's been telling him that he believes I'm strong enough to go with him now. You know, I made Dad think that I'm training myself to be ready for Shaw." I laughed at the absurdity.

The smile quickly faded from my face. "I think he's going to come soon, Mom. I knew this was going to happen eventually but… I don't know if I'm ready. But I have to be, right?"

A couple tears escaped my eyelids. "Mom, I think this is the last time I'll be here for a while. I have to run. Where am I going to go? I have no clue." I laughed nervously. "I don't know what I'll do… where I'll go. But I have to go somewhere. I'll figure something out. I can't just sit here and wait for him to come because no matter how much I train and how strong I get, my powers do nothing to him. I don't even know why I train sometimes; it doesn't accomplish anything."

I looked down at the stone and swallowed. "Right. You're right. I'm in control now and what happened that day will never happen again. And I did that. I controlled myself." I paused. "I know you're proud. I just wish you were here to witness it. If you were here, I wouldn't have to worry about Dad handing me off to Shaw like a shiny collector's item. You and Dad probably would've gotten divorced and you and I would've run off. It would've been great."

I paused again. "Yeah, yeah you're right…again. I shouldn't worry about what could've been."

I stared at the gravestone, staring at her name. "I love you, Mom. And I know you're always with me."

I touched the locket around my neck. I put my hand on the marble stone and touched the word mother. I leaned over and kissed it, and then stood slowly. A small rumble growled above me and I noticed the storm collecting high in the sky. I took a deep breath, turned my back and walked away. I wiped the now flooding tears off my cheeks as I closed the metal gate behind me.


	13. I Invited Someone Over

The next morning, I woke up at six-thirty, moving slowly across the room. It was a normal Friday, and I had absolutely no incentive to go to school other than I had to. I took a quick shower and dressed myself in some jeans and a t-shirt. I walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Dad had already begun to eat his breakfast. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat next to him. He eyed me as I sat down, but I avoided making eye contact with him by focusing on my bowl.

"You don't have anything after school, do you?" he asked.

"No, why?"

"Well, I invited someone over. I would like you to be there."

I looked at him and he continued to stare at his breakfast.

"Oh, ok. Sure."

I knew what he meant and I wasn't totally surprised by it either. Yet, I felt myself go tense and I had to stretch out my hands several times to feel comfortable again.

Shaw was coming back and he was coming back today.

Dad left twenty minutes before I was supposed to like every other day. But after twenty minutes, I didn't leave for school.

Instead, I ran up to my room and dumped the items in my backpack onto my bed.


	14. She's Just a Little Girl

I knew I had to leave.

I ransacked my room, looking for things to pack. I took an extra shirt, pants and undergarments. I took all of the money out of my safe, my passport and my iPod. I also packed a small lunchbox with some food in a smaller pouch of the bag. Dad had just left for work and wouldn't be coming back until he got home that night so I figured going out the front door wasn't a big deal. I walked outside and immediately took a step back.

Eight police cruisers and about thirty police officers were perched on my front lawn. More cruisers lined the streets. The officers' guns were aimed at me.

"Is my dad in trouble or something?" I asked.

"No," said one of the officers. "You are."

"Me? I'm just going to school." I fixed my bag on my shoulder.

"The station got an anonymous tip that you were dangerous."

"Dangerous? To who?"

"Everyone around you. Including yourself."

I laughed. "I don't know who gave you this anonymous tip but I think they have their people crossed."

"Just put your hands up for me. Now."

I slowly put my hands level with my head.

"Wait!" My eyes shifted to the left where a young officer had moved his glare from me to the other officer. "She's a mutant! She could kill us all with a flick of her hand!" He turned back to me.

"Put your hands down!"

I slowly put my hands down. "Is that what this is about? Me being a mutant? If it is then believe me I'm not going to hurt anybody. I'm human. Just like you."

"No you're not! You can do things that are unthinkable!" said the young officer.

"If you just listen to me..." I raised my hand out as a sign of peace when all thirty guns posed at me clicked as the officers got ready to fire.

"Now wait!" A gruff, strong voice echoed from the back of the crowd. "She's just a little girl. We're not going to hurt her."

My stomach churned as the familiarity of that phrase caught me off guard. My eyes moved slowly to the back of the crowd where I saw Sebastian Shaw standing in front of one of the cruisers.

"Shaw." I muttered his name under my breath as the fear and anger worked its way through me.

With no other option I moved my arms in a circle around my body and they came together in front of my chest, the bases of my palms clapping together. A wave of air flew toward the officers and flew them back into the yard across the street. The cruisers slammed into a house and the people sitting in what was their living room shrieked with fear. Shaw stayed standing in the same position, having absorbed whatever wind hit him. He began to stalk toward me and I turned my back and ran.

I ran through the house and into my backyard. I snapped my arms up and I sunk into the earth below. I knew he wouldn't know where to look because Dad didn't know about my creation. Once I was underground I looked around at the miles and miles of underground pathways that led to the town next to ours. I looked back and forth at the pathways and didn't know which to choose.

"_Head east_." A calm, male voice echoed inside my head.

I spun around, looking for the source.

"_I am in your mind_," he said. "_I will help you to safety_."

"_How do I know that?_" I asked.

"_My name is Charles Xavier. You can trust me_."

For some reason, I felt whole heartedly that he was telling the truth.

I took off down the path heading east and pushed more earth out of my way when the path ended. I ran until I reached water. Charles told me to come above ground and cross the Long Island Sound. So I swam across the waterway until I reached land on the other side. Because I used water bending it took me all of a minute to swim across. Once I reached land, I dried myself off with a large breeze and then I walked until I arrived in a town called Port Chester. I waited for a public bus and took it all the way to North Salem in Westchester as Charles had instructed. I got off the bus there and walked until I reached the front gate of a mansion bigger than anything I had ever seen. On one of the cement blocks the gate was attached to there was a bronze plaque. It read _Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters_.

"_You're here,_" he said.


	15. You're Safe Now

**This is one of my longest chapters- I thought I would do this after I tortured you with three short ones in a row. So here you go! Enjoy!**

I smiled and went through the gate. I suddenly felt safe and at home. Charles had told me on my journey that this place was a school for mutants where young kids could learn how to control their powers away from harm and discrimination.

As I walked passed some kids playing in the front lawn, they stared at me for a moment. But when they realized I was just another runaway they smiled and continued on with their activities. I walked up the long driveway and came to a large entranceway.

There was a set of large, French doors. The bricks that created the mansion were laced with green vines and small shrubbery lined the entrance, resembling a hotel.

Sitting in the doorway was a man in a pearl white wheelchair. The man was young, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties. His long, brown hair was combed back out of his face and it swayed gently in the wind. He smiled warmly and seemed to completely ignore my disheveled appearance.

"Hello, Rebecca," he said.

"Are you...?"

"Professor Charles Xavier. But you can just call me Professor Xavier if you'd like."

His soft British accent was surprisingly soothing and I immediately felt safe.

"You're safe now."

I smiled and followed him into the mansion. Inside was just as impressive as the outside of the building. Wood paneling covered the walls and kids ran down the hallways, rushing to class or heading down one of the many hallways.

"Welcome to my school for the gifted," said Professor Xavier.

"This place is incredible," I said. "I can't believe I haven't heard of it before."

"From what I could tell, your father made sure you didn't know anything about us."

"You read my dad's mind?"

"For a short time, yes. He's not the smartest chap, is he?"

I chuckled. "No."

Professor Xavier wheeled himself into an elevator and I followed him. As I walked down the hall, my head was circling from the wall to the ceiling to the other wall, taking in the wonders of this new found safe haven.

The doors to the elevators closed and the new sights were shut off from me.

Professor Xavier chuckled. "It's impressive, isn't it?" he said. "Sometimes I can't believe it myself."

"How do all these kids know about you? They can't all be runaways."

"You're right, they're not all runaways. Many of them I found because they needed my help. Some needed my assistance controlling their powers. Others' parents didn't know what to do with a mutant child."

"But how did you find them?"

The elevator dinged and we walked off and Professor Xavier took a right down the long hallway. He wheeled up to a large metal door. It was circular and had a large "X" across it. At the cross of the x was a small, blue circle. A light shined out of it and scanned the professor's eye.

"Welcome, Professor," a female, robotic voice echoed down the hallway.

The doors slid open and revealed a vast room, nothing but a skinny walkway occupying it. As I walked in I realized the walls were constructed from large metal plates, strategically placed around the room. Professor Xavier stopped at the end of the walkway where there was a silver desk. On top of the desk was an odd looking helmet. It was sleek and silver with three silver cords coming off of it. Professor Xavier lifted the helmet and placed it on top of his head, pushing his hair down onto his forehead.

I fought to hold back a chuckle as he sat there regally with this contraption over his head.

"Believe me, I know how ridiculous this looks," he said. "But it serves a great purpose."

Suddenly, the room went red and bodies of thousands of people flashed across the wall in front of us.

"I'm hoping by now you've come to the realization that I am a telepath," he said. I saw his eyes move to the corners of his eyelids, looking over his shoulder at me.

"Yeah, I got that a while ago."

He laughed softly. "Well this machine can expand my powers, letting me reach minds I would never be able to reach by myself. I call this Cerebro."

"That's Spanish for brain, right?"

"Yes, it is. And this is how I found many of my students. Along with just locating these young people I can also communicate with them as well- as you already know. I know what their troubles are and whether or not they need our help."

"How come you never found me?"

"You showed up on my radar several times. The first was ten years ago."

Slowly, the red faded and Professor Xavier took the helmet off. He ran his fingers through his hair several times to try and get rid of the case of helmet hair he had given himself.

"It was the day my mom died, wasn't it?" I said, softly.

He nodded. He motioned with his hand toward the door and I walked back into the bright hallway. He wheeled in front of me and brought me to a room full of extra sets of clothing.

"I know you're freezing," he said. "You swam the Long Island Sound."

"I'm dry," I said, quickly. I didn't want him to stop telling me what he had started. I hadn't realized I was shivering until he had mentioned it.

"I'll tell you the story, I promise," he said. "Just get changed and I'll explain everything."

When he spoke to me I felt this warmth inside my heart; something I hadn't felt in almost ten years.

He showed me to the bathroom and I changed into the very soft and very warm sweat pants and sweat shirt he had given me. On both the pants and the shirt was a small "x" encompassed in a circle. I wondered how long I would have to live in these clothes until I got some of my own back.

"_We will get you some new personal things_," he said in my mind. "_Leave your backpack there, actually. We will take care of that later_."

I chuckled and shook my head, knowing it was going to take me a while to get used to a telepath who actually had some power. I put my backpack on the counter and tied the string on the pants.

I came out of the bathroom and Professor Xavier was admiring several black leather suits that were sitting in glass cases. He turned around before I made a sound and he smiled.

"Do you feel more comfortable?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks." I smiled warmly.

"Let's continue our talk in my office."

We went back upstairs and up the hallway we had walked in before. No one seemed to notice I was there, and if they did I guessed it wasn't uncommon to see new students getting the tour. We walked past the main door and then took a right.

The room we went into was a normal professor's office. It wasn't sleek and modern like the downstairs was- it matched the classic design of the rest of the upstairs. Books lined the wall and a large, dark wood desk was in the center of the large office. On the side were several chairs and a chalkboard which I assumed were moved to the center of the room when the professor taught one of his many classes.

Professor Xavier moved himself to where he was sitting to the right of one of the chairs.

"Come sit," he said.

I walked over and turned the chair to face him. I sat down on the padded seat and got myself comfortable.

"I first saw you in Cerebro when you were five years old," he began. "You were a very strong presence; one of the strongest I have ever come across." He paused for a second. "Have you ever heard of the term Class Five?"

"Yeah, Shaw told me I was one."

"Yes, well he was correct. And I found you when you were experiencing your first moment as a true Class Five mutant."

My face contorted as I suddenly became very confused. Professor Xavier was quick to explain.

"You, my dear, are not a truly realized Class Five mutant. You will be when you have all of the elements in your conscious control."

"But I thought I did."

"You control all of them except lightning."

I swallowed. He looked at consolingly, but he continued on with his story.

"I saw what happened that day and the instability it caused in you. I was ready to leave then and there and come get you; keep you safe from Shaw and help you regain your control. But you were very young and I wasn't sure taking you away from the only family you knew was a very good idea at the time. You were still grieving the loss of your mother."

I nodded in understanding. "So what happened?"

"I kept an eye on you. But then you began to take control of your powers. You practiced more than any other person I had ever seen at such a young age. Once you controlled the elements you could and the lightning never reoccurred, I felt confident in the fact that you could handle yourself. Your father gave you a nice home and you had your control. I didn't believe you needed my help."

"I get that but I'm assuming you knew about Shaw."

"Yes, I did which is why I kept an eye on him all this time. I knew he was coming for you this morning. Why do you think I was in your mind at that precise moment?"

I looked down. "Happy coincidence?"

He laughed. "I'm sorry if I didn't act soon enough."

"No, no. Don't be. I understand what you were thinking; it makes sense. And what matters is that I'm here now and Shaw can't find me."

He smiled warmly. Behind me, I heard the door open and four adults walked in. They all smiled warmly except for one large guy in the back. I immediately felt intimidated by them.

"I'd like you to meet the teachers here," said Professor Xavier.

I stood from the chair and fixed my shirt which had crumpled up when I sat down. A woman with short, silver hair stepped forward and held her hand out.

"My name is Storm," she said. "Nice to meet you."

I shook her hand. "Did you say Storm?" I looked at her, slightly confused.

Professor Xavier chuckled behind me. "Her given name is Ororo. But she is known as Storm."

"Ah." My cheeks went red with embarrassment.

Professor Xavier introduced me to the rest of the teachers- there was Dr. Jean Grey who would be easily recognizable by her sharp red hair. Then there was Logan or Wolverine (I laughed at that one), whose hair seemed to be stuck in a decade that had long passed. Finally there was Scott Summers, or Cyclops. His ruby red sunglasses stopped me from seeing his eyes.

All of the teachers were mutants and each of them described- or in Logan's case showed- their powers to me. My jaw hit the floor as they each told me about their mutation. I had only come across a telepath and Shaw. I knew there were others but I was amazed by how incredible their powers were.

"So, what can you do?" asked Logan.

"I can manipulate the four elements," I said, proudly.

"She's very strong," added Professor Xavier.

After that, the teachers excused themselves as their next class period approached. I eyed the door they left from, wondering if I should follow.

You don't have to start class today," said the professor, answering my thought. "You can start tomorrow."

"Cool." I paused. "So what should I do now?"

"I'll show you your new quarters and then you can just get yourself acclimated."

"Oh. Ok."

Professor Xavier then left his desk and rolled out of his office, going down a long hallway adjacent from it. He stopped at the fifth door on the right.

"Welcome to your new room," he said.

The door swung into the room and I walked in slowly. The room reminded me of college dorm rooms. It was small and simple, and a twin bed jutted out from the center of the wall. Against the wall directly to the left of the door was a decent sized wood dresser which had a large, square mirror attached. There were two nightstands next to the bed which was topped with a fluffy comforter and had two large pillows stacked up where the blanket was folded over. There was a book case next to a large window, along with an IPod station and radio.

I walked over and sat down on the bed, soaking in the comfort of the soft, cushiony fabric.

"I think I might like it here," I said.

Professor Xavier's face lit up with a smile. "I'm very glad. Now, make yourself at home, feel free to explore or just take a nap if you'd like. We will see you at dinner at six."

He smiled at me again, and then left me alone in the room.

**Yeah, so I made Professor X young. That's because I love James McAvoy and in my head Rebecca is me and I would want to hang with James McAvoy…so yeah. Soak it up.**


	16. Havok Arises

I laid down on the bed after Professor Xavier left and ended up falling asleep. I woke up sweaty; I had fallen asleep fully clothed, shoes and all. I turned my neck to look at the clock that was perched on the left nightstand and saw that two hours had passed since the last time I looked at the clock.

I flipped my legs around so my tippy toes brushed the wood floor. I looked behind me out the window, and saw a bunch of younger kids playing on a basketball court. I smiled and laughed a bit when I saw a teleporter popping around the court and scoring.

A large grumble from my stomach interrupted my laughter and I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since my half-eaten bowl of cereal that morning. I stood and took a few determined steps to head to the kitchen, but as I reached for the door handle I realized I had no idea where that was.

I opened the door and peaked my head out. The hallways were empty, all of the students and teachers in their classes. I opened the door all of the way and stepped out into the main hallway. My socks made padded taps on the wood as I stepped toward the center of the corridor. I stopped in the foyer of the mansion, not sure which of the two hallways to go down. I looked back and forth, playing a game of eenie meenie miney moe in my head.

"Are you looking for something?" A deep, full, young voice made me turn around.

A young guy stood at the edge of the foyer. He was medium height, and his square jaw made him look older than I assumed he was. His blue eyes lit up against his short blond hair. The light hit his eyes at just the right angle, making them sparkle. His arm muscles bulged out of his short sleeve shirt and the sight of him made my heart race.

"Um…yeah…um…" I couldn't seem to find my words, and my cheeks began to go red. "I'm…I'm looking for the kitchen."

My stomach let out a large grumble and I grabbed it in an attempt to shush it. The kid laughed softly, even though he tried to hide it with a cough.

"What? A girl can't be hungry?" I crossed my arms, and suddenly felt very comfortable.

He laughed again, not holding back this time. "No, I like a girl who actually eats."

"Me too." I smiled, maybe a little too widely.

He walked forward and I got nervous again.

"It's a little complicated, so I'll show you where the kitchen is," he stopped walking when he was about a foot away from me.

I smiled and he walked past me, beginning our walk to the kitchen. We walked down the long hallway to my left and went all the way to the end of it and on the right was a large archway into the kitchen. I walked in and he turned to look at me.

"So, this is it. The pantry is right there," he pointed to a large closet, "and there is every drink you can imagine in the fridge. Except alcohol." He scoffed a little.

I just stood there, smirking at him.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

"That wasn't very complicated. I could have found my way."

"Well, it's easy to get lost in here."

I looked at him straight in the eye and he just stared right back.

"Fine. Thank you."

He smirked and went into the pantry. He worked his way to the back and found a box of Cheez-Its. Then, he walked over to a circular table in the corner and took a seat.

I looked at him with a tilted head. "Are you a telepath?"

He laughed at my question. "No. Why?"

"I was going to look for Cheez-Its. They're my favorite snack food."

"Really? Mine too. Since I was a kid."

I walked over to the table and took the seat next to him. I grabbed the edge of the box and turned it towards me. I grabbed a handful and placed a few in my mouth, putting the others on the table in a pile.

We sat there for a minute just snacking until he broke the silence.

"So you're new here?" he asked, even though I'm sure he knew the answer.

"Yeah. I'm Rebecca."

"Alex."

I smiled. "So are you a teacher or something?"

"Nah, I'm too young."

"Oh, I just figured if you were a student you'd be in class right now."

"Nope. I'm kind of in between. I've graduated but I had nowhere else to go so I'm kind of just hanging until I can teach here."

"Oh. How old are you?"

"I thought it was rude to ask someone their age."

"It's rude to ask a girl their age, but a girl can ask a guy anytime she wants."

He smiled. "Nineteen."

"Fifteen."

We reached for the crackers at the same time and our hands touched. I quickly pulled away and went red. We sat there for a moment.

"Are you hot or something? Your hands are really warm," he observed.

"No, it's because of my mutation. My body temperature is hotter than normal."

He nodded in understanding. I guessed by being in this school he had seen some pretty wild powers. Then, I heard the footsteps of someone else coming toward the kitchen. A teenage girl walked in. She looked around the room before her eyes reached the table and found Alex.

"Hey, Havok, the Professor wants you down at the bunker in ten," she said.

"Sure."

She smiled at me and then left us alone again. Once she was out of earshot, I turned at him with wide eyes.

"Havok? I thought you told me your name was Alex."

He closed his eyes, smiled and sighed as he began to explain. I assumed I wasn't the first to ask.

"My nickname is Havok. It relates to my powers."

"What are your powers?"

"I can blast energy from my chest."

"Energy?"

"Yeah, like red energy beams."

"That's pretty awesome."

"When it's not destroying anything, yeah it can be."

I chuckled.

"What's your nickname?"

I looked at him with a mischievous smile. "I don't know. I mean, I've thought about it but I never officially gave myself a codename."

"Well, what did you think of?"

"Have you ever heard of the show Avatar the Last Airbender?"

"Yeah, it was my childhood."

I smiled. "Well I knew one of the creator's son. He was my best friend when I was five. He was the first person outside of my family that I told about my powers. He promised me he would never tell anyone, but, of course, he told his dad."

Alex laughed.

"His dad thought that his kid just had an overactive imagination, but it's what sparked the idea for the TV show. So, every once in a while I thought about using Avatar as a codename. But it seemed kinda lame."

"I like it."

He looked at me with a pure sincerity in his eyes. I smiled.

"Thanks."

Alex was quiet for a moment and then stood from the table. "Sorry," he said. "But the professor calls."

He touched two fingers to his temple.

"Ok, go have fun."

He smiled. "Thanks." He began to walk away but he backtracked. "How about we meet up at dinner?"

I smiled too widely again. "Yeah, sure."

"Cool. The dining room is right next door," he said, pointing to the set of closed doors across from the kitchen.

"Great. I will meet you there."  
>He smiled at me, for the first time showing his teeth. Then he turned around and walked away and I was finally allowed to melt into the chair with glee.<p> 


	17. Standing There By the Door

A few minutes after Alex left, I put the Cheez-Its away and left the kitchen. I walked into the long hallway and began to wander aimlessly, stumbling on whatever happened to be around.

On my walk, I discovered a rec room, complete with a flat screen TV and video games. To its right there was a study hall, book shelves and computer stations lining the wall and couches and chairs provided a cozy area in the middle of the room to study.

There were several other rooms I came across, and I peeked my head into each of them to suppress my curiosity. Around five-thirty, I had finished my exploration of the entire mansion and I had wandered back to my room. The door to the room next to mine was open and I knocked softly on the wood to meet my new neighbor.

I heard a shuffling on the bed and then Alex came to greet me at the door. I stood there smiling, slightly surprised.

"This is your room?" I asked.

"No, I'm just here to look through their stuff." His smile let me know he was joking.

"My room is right next door."

"No way."

"Way."

We both laughed and then he moved over to the side.

"You wanna come in?" he asked.

"Sure."

I walked into the room and chuckled. The room was an absolute mess. Clothes were sitting on top of the dresser; none of it seemed to be in any of the drawers. His personal things were sprawled across the floor around the room. Alex caught my chuckle, even though I tried to swallow it.

"What? You've never heard of organized chaos?" he said, chuckling too.

"I've heard of it. This isn't it." I laughed at my own joke.

"Ha, ha very funny. I like my room like this."

I smiled but didn't say anything. We stood in silence for a minute until Alex cleared his throat.

"I um…I was about to go take a shower before you came in," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll let you go then."

I began to head for the door.

"Hey, you're still going to meet me at the dining room, right?"

I blushed. "Yeah. Right outside the door?"

"Yeah."

I smiled. "Cool. I'll uh…I'll see you there."

He smiled, his cheeks pushing into his eyes by his adorably large dimples. I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. I rested my back against the wall in between our two rooms and sighed happily. Then I went into my room and rushed over to the dresser.

I opened the drawers and was surprised by what met my eyes. Apparently while I was wandering, my dresser had been filled with all new clothes. I looked through all of the drawers, smiling at each new, haven't-been-worn fabrics.

I knew I wanted to look good for dinner, but I decided against a dress. I didn't want to go overboard; what if I was just imagining him flirting back? So I chose to stick with jeans and a nice purple shirt. I looked over myself at least three times.

My shoulder length hair was smooth and as perfect as I could make it because I had brushed it at least twenty times. The ends of my hair curled into small, ribbon-like swirls brushed my shoulders lightly.

My blue eyes were gleaming with nerves as they checked to make sure I was ready.

My toned arms swayed confidently at my sides as they brushed my curvy hips. Mom used to say that she thought I was going to end up with a "wine glass figure" and I guess that's what happened. I don't consider myself skinny, but I'm not fat either. I'm fit and my small curves were contrasted by my toned muscles. My arms were my strongest asset; the most toned parts of my body. I took great pride in my arms because they showed how hard I worked to control my powers. Overall, I looked just like my mom.

I took a deep breath and finally left my room at two minutes before six. I walked along with the crowd of other students heading toward the dining room. When it came into view, Alex was standing there by the door, his blue eyes emphasized by a collared, short-sleeved, black and silver shirt. He smiled and waved slightly. I took another big deep breath and waved back and walked up to him.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey, I'm glad you came," he said.

"Me too." I kept it short and simple. "But you will learn that I always keep my promises."

"I think there will be a lot of things I'll be learning about you."

I looked at him for a moment.

"Oh, that was a good thing," he added, quickly. "I'm excited."

"Same here," I laughed softly. "I'm guessing you have some interesting facts about yourself."

He looked down and out his hands in his pockets, red slowly taking over his cheeks.

"You want to take a seat?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I do. Whatever they're cooking smells amazing."

"Then let's go."

He waved his hand toward the doorway and I walked ahead of him into the large, almost filled room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Professor Xavier look over at us and smile.


	18. Revelations

Alex directed me to a table toward the back of the room where there were two empty seats at the edge of the table. Along the table sat several other teenagers who eyed us carefully, then smiled to each other. We took our seats with a couple empty ones in between us and the other kids. One guy, a tall, lanky kid with wavy, red hair looked at Alex and gave him a look. Alex flicked his head in the other direction to tell him to leave him alone. I laughed.

"It's ok," I said. "He can come over if he wants."

"No," he said, almost too quickly. "I uh…I mean, it's ok. He can wait."

I smiled and began to feel my cheeks go warm. "Ok," was all I could say.

I quickly learned that the students got their food according to grade. The youngest students would go first, and then we would work up until the oldest kids could get their meals. I had to go ahead without Alex and go with my grade. I smiled at some of the kids but kept mostly to myself, the shy part of me slowly kicking in.

I got back to the table with my plate of pasta and meat sauce and green beans right as Alex was able to go get his own plate. I sat there for a few minutes alone, waiting for him. For some odd reason, I found myself believing it would be rude to eat when he wasn't there so I sat there, absorbing the hot, amazing smells the food was emanating. When he came back, I waited for him to take his seat. As soon as his butt hit the chair my fork hit the food and I took a large forkful of the pasta.

"So," he said. "I think I can infer you like pasta."

I chuckled as I swallowed. "You think?"

From that point on, we began to share little tidbits about each other from what are favorite foods are to how we each ended up at the Xavier's school.

"How did you get here? " I asked. "Did Professor Xavier find you too?"

"Yeah, the professor found me. He was the first person to actually care."

I took a quick breath in. "I know how you feel."

He looked down at his plate and began to push around a piece of penne around his plate.

"What did your parents say when he came to get you?"

"They don't know. They…I mean he found me in prison."

"Prison?" If I could've guessed any circumstance, prison wouldn't have been one of them. "Why were you in prison?"

He paused for a moment, contemplating whether to tell me or not. "I killed someone. It was out of self-defense."

I didn't know what to say for a moment, but I found myself overwhelmed with compassion and a feeling of connection.

"I know…"I stopped myself. "I know that must have been hard."

He looked up at me and saw that I hadn't turned away from him.

"You're not going to scare me away that easily," I assured him.

He didn't say anything in return, but he smiled. "So why are you here?"

"I wasn't safe at home."

"Your parents didn't know how to handle a mutant kid?"

"No, my dad's a telepath. And my mom…" I stopped mid-sentence. "That wasn't the problem."

He opened his mouth to speak, but clamped it shut.

"Sebastian Shaw tried to kidnap me."

He looked up at me, his eyes wide in shock. "Sebastian Shaw? What does he want with you?"

"He wants my powers. He wants to use them to kill off the human race. I don't agree with his…philosophy and so he tried to take me by force."

"Wow," he said. "You win."

I laughed out loud. "Not the way I see it. My dad loves the man; why I'm not so sure. But he basically tried to hand me over to him. I ran and had no idea where I was going to go. That's when I heard Professor Xavier in my mind. He brought me here."

"Yeah, he has impeccable timing."

"I'm very glad that he does." There was a pause. "How long have you been here?"

"Since I was sixteen."

"You're lucky."

He swallowed what he was chewing. "Yeah, I guess I am."

When we finished our dinner, Alex and I went back to his room. He moved some of his CD's off the floor and we took a seat next to his window. We continued our talk there, although it became more light hearted. At about nine-thirty, there was a knock at the door.

Alex hoisted himself off of the floor and opened the door. Professor Xavier was sitting there, smiling warmly.

"Hello you two," he said.

I stood up and smiled back.

"I don't mean to interrupt but I was hoping I could steal Rebecca for a minute."

"Yeah, it's fine," I assured. "We can talk later."

Alex looked back at me with understanding. "Yeah, we can."

I walked around his bed and past Alex and stood in front of the professor.

"You ready?" he said.

"As much as I'll ever be."

He chuckled. "Alright then. Follow me."

He began to roll away and I began to follow. I looked back at Alex and he smiled.

"Have fun."

I smiled back and followed Professor Xavier all the way to his office.

"So," I said as I took a seat. "What's going on?"

"Well, first of all I wanted to know how you were adjusting."

"Great. I met some really nice kids."

"Yes, Alex is a gentleman, isn't it he?"

I blushed.

"And secondly, I do have a bit of a request."

"What's that?"

"I would like, if I may, to have a look at your life from your perspective."


	19. The Innocence In Me Had Left

"You want to read my mind?"

I was anything short of dumbfounded. "Why?"

"I do this with all of my new students to get to know them. It seems easier than to sit here and be answering questions for hours."

"I don't know. There are a lot of things I have gone through that no one else should have to see."

"I know you have gone through unbearable events. But I'm hoping maybe I can help you. You have held all of your anger and sadness in because you had no one to talk to. I could help you get rid of some of the pain."

I sat there, staring at Professor Xavier. His eyes told me he meant well and was telling the absolute truth. I don't think he could've said anything less. But, I was still unsure.

"Are you sure? The pain…the pain is mine. You shouldn't have to feel it too."

"That is not true. Everybody shares their pain whether it is by the way of tears, or screams or dismembering others in their thoughts."

I smiled tentatively.

"It's time for you to let go of some of the grief. And let others in."

I took another moment before finally giving my answer. "Ok."

He smiled warmly.

"So how does this work?"

He held his hands out, asking for me to tilt my head forward. I bent my neck forward and put my head in between his hands.

"Just relax," he said.

I closed my eyes as he placed two fingers on each of my temples. I felt him begin to go through each and every one of my memories, making sure he absorbed each one. But I also felt him making sure I didn't relive any pain or discomfort.

We sat in this position for a couple of minutes as he watched my life unfold in my mind. I felt him cringe a couple times and I cringed with him, even though I didn't know what he was cringing at.

Finally, his forehead retracted from mine and I didn't realize they had even been touching until the cool air conditioning touched the warm spot on my head. His fingers left my temples and his eyes opened.

His look towards me had changed. The innocence he looked at me with had disappeared as he finally realized the innocence in me had left a long time ago.

"You have lived a tough life for such a young girl," he said solemnly.

"Yeah, but I survived."

"I'm sorry you had to go through it alone."

I shook my head. "Don't be. It's not your fault."

He smiled, but didn't show his teeth like he usually did.

"I paid attention to one memory in particular."

"Which one?"

"The day that your mother passed away."

I bowed my head. "Yeah, there's not one night that memory doesn't flash by once or twice."

"It was a tragic day. But, something very interesting happened that day as well."

I tilted my head in confusion.

"When the lightning emerged, did you notice the yellow film in your eyes?"

"It was the only thing I saw."

"Well there is a reason that it came across your eyes like that."

"There is?"

"Yes. Everything has a purpose. I believe that the yellow film was your body's way of saying it wasn't in control. It symbolized your power was the controller, not you. Once you control the lightning the film will disappear."

"You think so?"

"I do. I do study these sorts of things."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me a confidant. I haven't had one in a really long time."

He looked at me with a loving gaze. "Your mother was a wonderful woman, wasn't she?"

I gazed down at my locket. "Yeah, she was. I try to make her proud by keeping up her legacy. She once told me that if I worked hard because of my will to do well I could accomplish anything I wanted. I kind of made that my mantra."

"It's a very good one."

"It is."

"Well I think your mother is very proud of you. She had a part in raising a wonderful young woman."

I smiled, but couldn't get myself to say anything, afraid that my voice would crack.

"I promise you will do great things," he said.

"I know."

He looked down at his wrist and checked his watch. "It's rather late, I think you should go to bed."

I looked at the clock on the wall. "It's only nine-forty-five."

"Yes, but you have school tomorrow."

He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. "Fine."

I stood and went toward the door. "Thanks again, Professor."

"It was my pleasure."

I chuckled. "No, it wasn't."


	20. First Day

**Hey guys! It's my 20****th**** chapter! Woo hoo! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Thanks for the support!**

At seven o'clock in the morning, a preset alarm rang from the clock on my nightstand. I flipped onto my stomach and moaned as the radio woke me from my very peaceful slumber. I searched for the snooze button and when I finally hit it, I flipped back onto my back and stared at the fan moving in a slow circle on the ceiling. I urged myself out of bed and went over to the mirror.

My hair was sticking out in every way and made an abstract art piece on the back of my head. I shook my head as I yawned and reached for one of the drawers. As I looked for an outfit, a piece of yellow pad paper on the top of the dresser caught my eye.

"Please wear this today for your first day. Good luck. Professor Xavier."

Under the note were gray sweatpants and a gray tank top. I took the clothes, grabbed a bra and underwear and headed for the bathrooms. Across the hall, I walked into the bathroom and went toward the showers.

I walked into the individual shower and turned on the water. I placed my clothes on the bench outside of the curtain next to a towel I had grabbed off the shelf.

I went into the water and let the heat soak into my skin. After I washed everything, I stood there for another minute, enjoying the heat. Then, I got out of the shower and got dressed.

After quickly towel drying my hair and putting it into a ponytail, I came out of the bathroom and hurried over to the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

When I got there, Alex was standing at the counter, stuffing some toast into his mouth.

"Hey," he said, some crumbs flying out of his mouth. "How'd you sleep?"

"Really good, actually." I browsed the cabinet and came up with a box of Rice Krispies.

"What did the professor want?"

"Nothing. We just talked."

Alex looked at me and knew I wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't pry. I grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal into it. I got the milk from the fridge, put it into the bowl and started to eat.

"You ready for your first day? I see the professor has some training in for you." His eyes scanned my outfit, grinning.

"I think I'm ready. But it would be good if I knew where to go." I chuckled to myself.

"Usually training sessions happen outside or downstairs. Usually the professor lets you know where to go before class starts."

I nodded. "So what do you do when everyone's in class?"

"There's a couple of us who are…in the transition phase. We all hang out."

"Oh, cool."

"_Ms. Shaw, please meet me and Cyclops in the front lawn_," a calm voice echoed in my mind.

"Sorry," I said. "But the professor calls."

I touched two fingers to my temple.

He laughed. "Ok, go have fun."

I smiled and turned my back to leave.

"Good luck," said Alex.

I turned back to look at him. "Thanks."

I left the kitchen and walked out the front door. Standing on the front lawn was the tall, handsome man who had introduced himself to me as Cyclops the morning I arrived. Next to him was Professor Xavier, the two of them chatting.

I walked up to them and they ended their conversation and they both smiled at me.

"Hi, and welcome to your first day," said Cyclops.

"Thanks. I'm actually kind of excited."

"Us too," said the professor. "I'll let you two get to work; I just wanted to wish you good luck."

"I appreciate it."

He smiled at both of us and then wheeled himself back into the house.

"So," said Cyclops. "Let's begin."

The two of us walked over to a large strip of gravel in front of the mansion.

"The professor tells me your control is pretty impeccable."

I began to blush. "I try."

"Well I want to test your control; see how good you really are."

I crossed my arms. "Bring it."

Cyclops ran to the other side of the strip and stood in front of a large target.

"Hit the target, not me," he instructed.

I scoffed. "That's it?" I laughed slightly too.

"Baby steps."

I smiled and took a deep breath. I raised my right hand in the fire hand formation and shot a small stream of fire. As it neared Cyclops, I gently turned my hand and the fire did the same, creating a gentle curve around him and hit the red circle in the center of the target.

"Very nice," he said. "Now do it again."

"The same thing?"

"Uh huh."

I cracked my neck and threw another stream out. Suddenly, a red plasma beam was racing toward it.

"Whoa!" I moved my hand quickly, tilting my fingers toward the ground. The fire traveled downwards and avoided the blast.

"What was that?" I brought the fire back over to me because I had over shot the target. I coiled it around my body, and got ready to try again.  
>Scott's fingers were next to his temple, ready to press a button on his glasses that allowed his blasts to explode from his eyes.<p>

I shot the fire again from my right hand but kept my left hand ready if needed. About halfway to the target, Cyclops shot again. I slowed the fire to gain some time by curling my fingers. I looked around quickly and noticed a fountain behind him. I pulled the water up with my left hand and raced it toward his blast. The plasma and water collided and the two destroyed each other, leaving a line of gray smoke in the air. I curved the flames away from Cyclops once more and hit the target.

He looked at me and smiled.

For the next two hours, I worked with him, creating maneuvers I would use to stop an opponent's attacks while still controlling my own. After our session was finished, the woman who I remembered as Storm came out and Cyclops left to go inside.

"Now let's see how you do against someone who can manipulate the same things as you," she said.

She took Cyclops' place on the gravel, but moved the target away. She took her stance and I took mine. Then, a white film came over her eyes and she began to rise in the air. Her hands rose up to her chest and she began to create tornados in each one.

Then, she threw them at me at an incredible speed. I planted my feet and clapped both hands together. A vertical wave of air moved through the air and when it was in between the two tornados I pulled my hands apart and the wave split into two. Each wave devoured one of the tornados and soon the funnels joined into my wave and disappeared.

After three hours with Storm, I was released to go to lunch. After, I was supposed to meet Logan outside again.

Lunch was fairly quick. There was a buffet set up with sandwiches of all kind and I quickly chose my favorite. After the rigorous morning, I was starving and ate my entire sandwich in a matter of minutes. After chugging down some water, I went back outside.

Logan was already standing outside, the professor along with him. I walked over to them. Professor Xavier smiled at me, but Logan just stared at me.

"I heard you did very well this morning," said Professor Xavier.

I smiled and let him continue.

"But now it's my turn. I know you discovered you could bend the tiny earth particles inside metal when you were thirteen."

"Yeah, but it's not my strongest suit. I've focused more on the four elements. Metal was…let's say a hobby."

"Well then let's turn your hobby into something more."

"How do we do that?"

"Logan here is happy to assist."

Logan gave Professor Xavier a glance, and then he fisted his hands and three, sharp, metal blades came out of the spaces between his fingers.

"Holy crap! How did you do that?"

"Magic," said Logan, sarcastically.

"A long time ago, Logan was gifted with a metal skeleton that turned his claws metal. You're going to move him using metal bending."

I scoffed in surprise. "You expect me to lift him?" I stared at the easily two-hundred pound man.

"There's enough metal in his body that you should be able to lock in to the earth. And if not this time, we can keep practicing."

I took a long, deep breath. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes. I have complete and utter faith in you."

I looked at him and then at Logan.

"Are you ok with this?" I asked.

"Let's just get this over with," he said, gruffly.

"There's the spirit," joked the professor. "Now come on. Try it."

I didn't argue and I took a couple steps back. I raised both hands and tried to look for earth. My palms faced Logan as I tried to focus. My hands and arms shook as I tensed my muscles but came up with nothing. Finally, I let go in defeat.

"There's not enough," I said.

"Come on, don't give up so easily." Professor Xavier wheeled up to me. "I believe true focus lies somewhere in between rage and serenity. If you find that point, you can do anything."

"What's my point?"

"You have to find out for yourself."

I looked at him, but he gave no answer. "Fine."

I took a deep breath. I rose my hands again and started to look for the earth. While I was trying, I began to think about the day I had bended metal for the first time; the elation I felt that day. I also began to think about my mother. I thought of some of the happier memories between her and I and I thought about how they would never happen again.

Suddenly, I began to feel the presence of the earth in Logan's system. I fisted my hands and his body became very rigid.

"Holy shit…what the hell?" he stammered.

Professor Xavier laughed as he continued to watch.

I unclenched my right hand and began to lift up. Slowly, Logan began to rise into the air. He reached about two feet up and I stopped. I smiled in satisfaction and then began to turn my hand over. Logan was then lying on his back.

"Hey! Get me down!" he yelled.

I laughed and slowly put him down and he touched the grass smoothly. He held onto the ground tightly.

Professor Xavier laughed loudly as he came toward me. "Well done," he praised. "I knew you could do it."

"Thanks. That was kind of fun."

He laughed again and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"You are done for today," he said. "You can go shower and relax for the rest of the night."

I smiled, stepped forward and bent down to hug him. He put his arm around me.

"What's this for?"

"For having faith in me." I released the hug and smiled at him. "You just know what I need. And I really like that. I missed that for a long time."

"I'm glad I can help. Now go on, shower up."

I smiled again and then headed inside. I jogged to my room and got some shorts and a t-shirt out of my drawers. As I turned from my dresser to leave, I noticed a small note sitting on top of my pillow. I went over and read it.

"Rebecca, meet me on the roof at six. I have a surprise. Alex."

My cheeks went red with excitement. I turned back around and switched my shorts and t-shirt out for one of my new dresses. Even though it was only noon, I wanted to look perfect and I knew with my nerves and slight OCD it would take me the whole six hours to get ready. I left my room and nearly sprinted to the showers.


	21. Heaven on the Roof

Six hours later, I was finally ready for what Alex planned. My red sun dress fit perfectly and I had brushed and blow dried my hair to perfection. I walked out of my room and began my trek up to the roof. After reaching the last staircase, I found an elevator and pressed the "R" button and the box slowly moved toward the roof.

My foot tapped in nervous anticipation as the elevator slowly moved toward the roof. Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened. A gasped in surprise at what graced my eyes.

Alex was standing there in dark jeans and a crisp, collared, white long-sleeved shirt. In front of him was a red and white checkered blanket. On top of that was a wicker picnic basket and two pillows. Two candles were in between the pillows, along with plates and silverware sets wrapped in napkins.

Alex smiled at me as I stepped off the elevator.

"What is all this?" I asked in wonder.

"I thought it could be our first date," he said, smiling.

I smiled widely. "That's very sweet."

"Come here."

He motioned toward the makeshift picnic and I walked forward. He walked around and met me halfway in between the elevator and the blanket. He offered his hand and I put mine in it, and he walked me over to one of the pillows. I sat down, making sure to be careful because of the dress. Once I was down, Alex released my hand from his and walked over to the other pillow, sitting himself down.

"You put a lot of effort into this," I said.

He blushed and I couldn't help but blush too.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am. What's in the basket?"

"Well, I have some amazing pizza here."

"I love pizza!"

"Good. Because it's all that I got."

I laughed as he fished two slices of pizza out of the basket. He unwrapped the tin foil on each one of them and put one on my plate and one on his. We began to eat.

"So? What do you think?" he asked after a couple of bites.

"It's good. It's really good. Who made this?"

"A really good pizza place in town."

I laughed and he smiled, taking another bite. We each ate two more slices and the sun began to fade behind the horizon.

As it began to get darker, Alex went into the basket for something else.

"Aw, shit," he mumbled to himself.

"What's the matter?"

"I forgot a lighter. I was going to light the candles…" He rubbed his head in frustration.

"Here, I can help with that."

I put two fingers out and fire shot out from both of them, lighting the candles simultaneously.

"There. Problem solved." I smiled.

He smiled and began to relax again. "Thanks."

We began to chat for a while, laughing at every other thing each other said.

"What's the necklace you're wearing?" he asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"The gold…it glistened in the light of the flame and I noticed that you never take it off. I was just wondering if there was any significance."

"Oh, um...my mom gave it to me a couple months before she died."

"Your mom is dead?"

"Yeah. For almost ten years now."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I smiled softly, telling him not to worry.

"How did she die?"

I felt myself close up like a shriveled flower. "It was a long time ago…"

"I know it's got to be tough, but you can tell me."

I looked up at his eyes and he looked genuinely concerned. His eyes sparkled in the fire light and I couldn't help but be taken by them.

"She died in a fire," I said. My gaze shifted toward the candles. "That I caused," I added in a mumble.

"What do you mean?"

I flinched as I realized he heard me. I thought about covering it up, but I saw no point.

"When I was five, Sebastian Shaw tried to take me away from my parents. I got so angry that…that lightning came out of me. A fire started in the house and my mom got caught in it."

I wiped my eyes, trying to hide the fact that I had begun to tear up. There was a moment of silence between us.

"I don't tell anybody about how my mom died," I said. "I've always been afraid that if I tell someone they'd push me away thinking I was some kind of monster."

"I would never think that," he said. "And I'm glad you told me." He reached his hand toward me and wiped a stray tear off of my cheek.

"Thanks for listening," I said. "It means a lot."

Alex said nothing but he moved closer to me, sliding off his pillow and he moved to where our knees touched.

"You shouldn't hate your past," he said. "Just think about it. Everything that has happened to you- your past- it brought you here. It brought us together."

I smiled, but I don't think he noticed. He moved even closer, our hips touching now. I saw him beginning to lean in.

Inside my head, I was panicking. I had never kissed anyone before and I had no idea what to do. Should I just peck or should it be more? My head was frazzled but I tried to calm myself.

"_My god, Rebecca, just relax yourself_," I said, giving myself a ten second long pep talk. "_Just go for it. It'll be great_." I calmed down just as Alex's lips brushed mine. My heart almost leaped out of my chest and then our lips made contact.

I sat there for a split second, completely unaware of what to do next. I was terrified that this was going to end up awkward and I would ruin any chance of us being something. But then I noticed our lips were moving in natural synchronization. I didn't even have to think about it; I just knew what to do. So I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy one of the best moments of my life.

Twenty seconds after our lips touched, our lips parted and I opened my eyes. I was very surprised to find us floating on a pillow of air about ten feet above the roof. Alex opened his eyes and nearly had a heart attack.

"Holy shit!" he said. "We're in the air."

I felt my cheeks go a deep shade of red as I realized what had happened. "Sorry," I said, sheepishly.

I moved my hands and we slowly began to drift back down to the roof. We landed with a gentle thud on the blanket and Alex glanced at me.

"I am so sorry," I said. "I guess I was just floating on air in that moment." I took a pause. "Literally."

Alex laughed and leaned forward and kissed me again, this time a peck.

"It's ok," he assured me. "It was actually pretty cool. Just warn me next time, alright?"

I laughed. "Deal."

After that, I helped him gather up the picnic supplies and we headed downstairs. After he dropped off the stuff in the kitchen, we walked back to our rooms hand in hand.

I walked up to my door and he rested his shoulder on the wall.

"So," I said. "What happens next?"

"I'll tell you at breakfast," he smiled mischievously.

"You and your surprises."

"It makes things fun."

I smiled and gave him a hug goodnight. He watched me go into my room and closed the door behind me. It took every bit of will power I had not to scream in giddy delight and shout to the whole world I had my first kiss with the most perfect guy. But I kept my composure and instead decided to go to sleep on this high note, glancing at the clock and realizing that it was already midnight.

I changed into my boxer shorts and a tank top as pajamas and climbed under the covers. I looked at the wall behind my bed that was shared between our two rooms. I kissed two of my fingers, placed them against the wall and then laid my head down on the pillow, drifting to sleep with happy thoughts.


	22. He Will Be Happy With Your Work

I fell asleep quickly that night, but around two in the morning I found myself waking up to a distant smell. I sat up in my bed, sniffing the air around me. I finally realized that the smell I was smelling was the distinct odor of cigar smoke.

In passing, several people had told me Logan liked to smoke a cigar when he could and I guessed he was doing so in his room. The smoke must have traveled through the vents and reached mine.

Not wanting to wake anybody up, I created an air bubble around my head, blocking out the smoke so I could sleep without the disgusting smell seeping up my nostrils every time I inhaled. I put my head back on the pillow and the bubble followed. As I was just drifting back to sleep, I felt a breeze enter the room. At first I thought it was the air conditioning kicking in, but my thoughts changed when my blanket was thrown off of me.

My immediate thought was to panic, but I stayed calm. I didn't want to scare the little kids in the rooms across the hall, so I waited to see what would happen. The stranger picked me up as I pretended to be asleep. In my half panic-half calm state, I decided to wait to attack until he was outside so there would be no chance of anyone else getting hurt.

But the stranger didn't take a step. Instead, we disappeared in a cloud of smoke. I felt the immediate need to cough once we arrived wherever we were, but I held it in. I continued my fake slumber, but I could tell the lights were bright wherever we were.

"I've got the girl," a thick accented male voice came from the person cradling me.

I heard the click of women's high heels against the tile as she walked forward. "Good," she said. Her voice was sweet, but at the same time ice cold. "He will be happy with your work."

At that moment, I couldn't hold myself in any longer and I struck. I threw my hands in semi-circles around my body, creating a ring of fire around me. Then I thrusted my hands out, and the ring expanded, hitting both people. I dropped from the man's arms and landed on both feet. I looked around.

I was in an unfamiliar room, nothing inside it except a large radar. Behind me, a bright red man laid on the floor, but he had begun to stir. In front of me was a tall, sexy woman with voluptuous blonde hair. She was wearing basically nothing except for a small bikini top and a mini skirt.

They both began to get up and I threw fire in each of their directions. The woman turned into diamonds and the flames flew off of her. I stared in amazement and horror and didn't realize there was nothing but a plume of smoke behind me. Then, something whipped against my cheek and I flew to the ground.

Once I looked up, I discovered it was the man's tail as it swung across his body. I threw air toward them both and the man disappeared again. The woman ran into another room and I was alone.

The man appeared again out of nowhere and hit me again square in the face. I flew back and crashed into the wall. I felt my face beginning to swell but I couldn't stop. I had never seen a teleporter before, let alone fight one and I was finding it extremely difficult.

Then the woman returned and she blasted me in the stomach with a forceful kick. She knocked the air out of me and I gasped for air. I noticed something in her hand, but I didn't get a good enough look to see what it was. The man took his chance and grabbed me by my neck. He raised me off the ground and held me like I was a trophy and smiled. I grabbed his wrists and flames burned into his bright red skin. He screamed and disappeared again, dropping me back on my feet. He came back behind me and grabbed me in a chokehold. I struggled to get him off of me, squirming and thrashing my hands. In my state of panic, my attacks became wild and I kept missing his face by mere inches.

Then the woman charged forward and punched me straight in the jaw. I heard a crack and I screamed. I lifted my hands to attack back but a sharp, intense pain erupted in my side. I grabbed for my side, but whatever she had hit me with was gone. I clutched at my abdomen as it burned and slowly the pain infiltrated my entire body. My vision began to blur and tears of pain streaked down my cheeks.

Through the pain, I felt the man's hold on my neck shift from a chokehold to a sleeper hold. I felt myself beginning to fade. The last thing I saw was the woman smirking at me before everything faded to black.


	23. What Did You Do to Me?

Day: 1

I began to feel myself coming out of unconsciousness. The deep darkness that I had drifted into was slowly fading away and I began to be able to feel my body again. I blinked with my eyes still shut once, and then opened my eyes.

I found myself in an ornate bedroom, pieces of art lining the wall. The golden blanket that was on top of me was puffy and warm and it was draped neatly over my shoulder. There was a small but beautiful light fixture above the bed and there was a small chest across the room.

As I began to wake up more, I began to feel the stiffness and soreness of my body.

My face was incredibly sore, specifically my jaw which twanged with pain every time I tried to yawn or groan. I tried to sit up and an overwhelming pain made the other discomforts feel like nothing.

I grunted loudly as I tried to sit up, my side protesting insistently that I should lie back down. I surrendered to the pain and flopped my head back on the pillow. Very slowly, I perched myself on my left elbow and lifted my shirt up with my right hand to see what was causing the pain.

I gasped in horror as I found that my entire lower right side was covered by a large, dark, black and blue mark. It was unnatural looking; nothing of human force could manage to create something that ghastly looking. I quickly put my shirt down.

I didn't want to bother my side any more but I knew that if I wanted to find out where I was I had to. So I took one of the pillows from next to me and stuffed the corner in my mouth. Then, on a count of three, I began to lift myself.

One. Two. Three.

I grunted loudly into the pillow as I hoisted myself into the sitting position. I had to pry the fabric out of my mouth because I was clenching down on it so hard. I grabbed my side with my right hand and put my left hand out and touched the wall behind the bed.

By touching the wall, I could tell that I was surrounded by water. Wherever I was, I was underwater, maybe somewhere along the east coast United States according to temperature. I also figured by the temperature of the water that it was at least eight in the morning. At first I was relieved that I had figured out that much, but then I realized that I should have been able to sense I was underwater as soon as I had woken up. My mind began to race, but I quickly calmed it. I knew panicking was one of the worst things I could do, so I took a few deep breaths and got myself to stand. As I stared at my stretched out arm, my eyes drifted to my elbow where I noticed a small band-aid covered my skin.

My left hand flashed over to my side and clutched it tightly as I began to take steps forward. I reached for the door and found it was unlocked. The hallway in front of me was empty, the white tile floor and the mirror covered walls made it seem very carnival, magic house-esque. I stepped into the hallway and glanced at my reflection in one of the mirrors.

My jaw was bright red, black and blue all in the same area and my cheek had a large, red gash across it. My nose was red and my eyes seemed fuzzy and fogged over. I could barely recognize myself.

I ripped my gaze away from myself and continued to walk down the baron hallway. At the end of it was a door. I turned the handle and the door squeaked open, the metal grinding against the tile floor.

I carefully took a step in and then pressed my back against the wall. I slid stealthily down the small hallway leading into the room, listening for any sorts of sounds. Then I came to a corner that led into the main room. I took a deep breath, raised my right hand out in case I had to attack and then took a step into the room.

My eyes immediately were locked on Sebastian Shaw who was sitting in a large fabric chair in the corner of the room. He sat there, staring at the hallway I had come from as if he was waiting for me. He was playing with his glass of scotch in his left hand. Terror enveloped me as I took in what was sitting in front of me. Once the shock wore off, I collected myself and didn't let the fear show in my face, not wanting to give him any sort of satisfaction.

"Look who's up," he said. "First of all, I would like to apologize for your tragic appearance. That was not part of the plan at all."

"What…what are you talking about?" I was confused as ever, and the fear slowly began to creep back up.

"Well, I thought I was a genius when I thought of the idea to mix sleeping gas with cigar smoke so you wouldn't smell the gas. But I didn't incorporate your smarts into my plan. You- my brilliant girl you- created an air bubble around your head." He smiled. "I didn't give you enough credit."

"What did you do to me?" I glanced down at the band-aid and lifted my shirt so he could see the edge of the bruise that covered my side.

I expected him to cringe or something, but his facial expression didn't change. Then, a door behind his chair opened and the woman who attacked me the night before walked in and stood behind Shaw.

"You know she's scared out of her mind," she said, almost chuckling.

"Yes Emma, I know."

I looked at her for a moment; I knew my fear wasn't visible on my face. "You're a telepath," I concluded.

She smiled and Shaw seemed to ignore the observation.

"About your arm," he said. "I just took a little blood."

I glanced back down at my arm and swallowed back some of the vile that had crept its way up my throat.

"And that," he pointed to my stomach, "is your fault."

"My fault?"

"You were being a little difficult so Emma was forced to inject you with this serum I created. It renders you powerless for six hours. You should be beginning to get your powers back now, actually. The effects should start wearing off soon."

"How did you know where I was?"

Emma raised her hand and smiled with pride. "I'll take credit for that," she said. "Although your thoughts weren't exactly difficult to follow."

Before I had a chance to absorb what was going on, Shaw spoke again.

"Now that we've answered all of your questions, I have something to say. Today, you will get to enjoy the wonderful, extravagant life you could lead if you choose to side with me," he proposed. "By the end of the day, you will make a choice. Choose me and live like a queen or choose the other side and live like a prisoner."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

I stared at him for a moment, and his dark eyes glared at me.

"Then you don't have to bother trying to bribe me then," I said. "Because I'll never side with you. I'd rather be dead."

Shaw stood and walked over in front of me. "We'll see."


	24. Angel's In the Sky

"Now, because you're not a prisoner, I think I can give you the gift of healing those nasty wounds on your face," he said, almost warmly.

"I'm sorry, last time I checked you can't just say abracadabra and bruises and a broken jaw just disappear."

"You're funny," he said.

"I wasn't trying to be."

He took a step closer to me. I stepped back.

"I use the energy I absorb to stay young. I've also noticed they heal injuries on occasion."

"You think I'm going to let you touch me?"

"I think me touching your face for a couple seconds would feel much better than that broken jaw."

I paused. He was right. And I hated that.

"Fine."

He smiled and reached for my face. I went to close my eyes, but for some reason I couldn't drag them away from his face. Gently, he put two fingers onto my jaw and I felt the energy seep into my skin. First, the pain intensified for a quick moment, but it slowly began to sooth itself. Then he took his index finger and thumb and pressed against the bridge of my nose. Slowly, that began to heal as well and I found my eyes beginning to clear. The pain in my face completely subsided except for the large gash on my cheek.

I expected him to reach for my cheek next, but he put his hands down and stepped back.

"What about the cut on my cheek?" I asked, rubbing it slightly.

"Oh, come on now. I can't let you get away with too much." He brushed his hands together, as if to brush off some dust.

"Now come on," he said. "Time to meet the rest of the Hellfire Club."

"There are more of you?"

He laughed loudly and went into a chest in the room. He pulled out some gym shorts and a tank top. "Put these on first, though."

He flopped the clothes into my arms and walked out of the room. I managed to find a bathroom in his large master suite. I changed into the black gym shorts and white tank top. I came out of the bathroom and the woman he called Emma was standing in front of the door, waiting.

"Don't try to think of a way to escape," she said. "I'm always there watching."

I glared at her, but my stare meant nothing to her. She grabbed my arm and took me out of Shaw's room and led me to a ladder.

"Go," she said.

"I thought I was supposed to be living the life of luxury," I sneered. "Prison is not that life."

She glared at me and her stare intimidated me much more than mine intimidated her. "Just go."

I climbed up the ladder and reached a floor above the one we were on.

"This is not a deck," I said.

"Very observant of you," she said. "This is the cabin of the ship."

I thought for a second. "So we were in a submarine?"

"Next ladder." She pointed in front of me and didn't acknowledge my statement, but I knew that I had been correct.

I worked my way up the second ladder, and when I opened the large, circular door the sunshine hurt my eyes. I paused momentarily, but continued up the last rung and reached the deck of the boat.

The light wood floor shined brightly in the sun light, and lounge chairs were lined around the edges of the boat. Toward the back of the boat, a noticed a bar and a couch built into the side of the white wall.

Sitting at the bar was a young, Hispanic man. His long, black hair swayed gently in the wind and if he wasn't one of Shaw's supporters I would have thought he was cute. Lounging on the couch behind him was the red, devil man. By just looking at him, flocks of butterflies swarmed my stomach and I put my hand over my cheek.

"Ah, you're here." Shaw walked out from behind the bar and came toward me. "And you look much better."

"Perv."

He laughed and flicked his head forward. Emma backed away from me and he took her spot next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. I tried to shrug him off, but he stayed put. He walked me over toward the bar.

"I think it's time for some introductions," he said, cheerfully.

"This," he said, pointing to the Spanish man, "is Janos. Or as we know him: Riptide."

"Hola," his thick accent was very nice and I almost blushed.

"Hi," was all I said.

The Hispanic man stared at me for a second and then created a small whirlwind in his hand, as if to intimidate me. I smiled and held my palm out. The funnel moved from his hand over to mine and rotated over it smoothly. I made it turn a bit faster and made it bigger before I fisted my hand and the funnel converged with the rest of the air around us. He just sat on his bar stool and stared.

"That," Shaw pointed over to the red man, "is Azazel."

"Hello." He also had a thick accent, but I couldn't pin point it.

"And you already met Emma."

I looked out into the wide, open ocean.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I hadn't noticed I zoned out until Shaw's voice snapped me out of it.

"Oh. Yeah."

"Would you like to go for a swim?"

I looked at him in disbelief. "You're serious?"

"Very. Jump in."

I stared at him, trying to read his face. But I got no results.

"You're not afraid I'll try to run?"

"Not at all."

"Then I think your telepath is broken."

He chuckled. "My dear, you and I both know you won't run."

I threw up a little in my mouth when he said my dear. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because you and I both know that if you get into that water and take off, I'll just come back and find you again. And I'll come back twice as hard. Nowhere you'll run will be safe; even that school you seem so fond of."

His look at me went from nice to menacing before he finished his thought. I became slightly scared.

"So now," he said, "get in the water."

He removed a silver chain off a hook and opened the side of the boat for me to jump. I looked at him and then at the water.

"Ah, what the hell."

I took a running start and jumped into the water. The cool, rushing water ran over my skin and I wished I could just float there all day. My comfort level also rose incredibly once I knew that I was surrounded by a possible get away tool.

Then, I began to hear a noise from a couple feet away. It sounded like a small helicopter buzzing toward me. Then, a saw the creator of the sound.

A young girl, maybe in her early twenties, came flying toward me. Four dragonfly wings protruded out of her back and she raced toward me.

"What the…"  
>I watched with wonder as she flew toward me, but then my wonder turned to fear. I saw her curve her mouth into a circle and then a small, flaming ball came flying out of me.<p>

"What the hell?"

I dunked my head underwater and clapped my hands together, propelling myself deep underwater. Two more balls flew past me as they extinguished themselves as they hit the water. After thirty seconds and no more flaming balls came rushing toward me, I pushed myself toward the surface, bringing water up with me.

I came to the surface, but I didn't come out of the water. A tsunami sized wave flew up with me and slowly formed itself into the shape of a nuclear plant cooling tower. In the center of the tower, I created a large air bubble for me to float inside, giving myself air to breath.

The girl flew back to avoid being overtaken by the wave, and then began to spew fire at me again. But this time, I caught the two balls she threw at me with large outstretched arms of water. I pulled the black orbs into the air bubble with me and kept them levitating above my left hand. With my right hand, I pushed air through the water, creating two cannon-like openings. Then, I lit the orbs back on fire and shot one out of each cannon.

The newly lit fire balls raced toward the girl and she panicked. Before she could even try to move, the flames hit her and she flew into the water. I smiled in victory and yet was still very confused as to what happened. I let my tower fall and I drifted back into the water. I brought myself back up to the surface and treaded against the light waves. I was looking at the girl floating in the water until Shaw began to clap from the deck of the boat.

"Wow," he said, raising his hands above his head in an exaggerated gesture. "That was incredible."

"Do you know her?"

"That is Angel," he said. "One of my newer recruits."

Angel then flew out of the water and onto the boat.

I knew that Shaw would want me back on the boat, but I waited. I knew I could have easily taken the boat into the water with one wave, and I began to contemplate how I would figure my way back to Westchester if I got away.

"Don't even think about it," said Emma, her voice projecting across the sea.

I sighed, annoyed that I had forgotten she was a telepath and would probably be listening in for a while. I propelled myself out of the water by two water streams pressing against my feet and brought myself back up onto the deck. When my feet pressed firmly on the deck, I let the water fall back into the ocean. Shaw handed me a large, white towel.

"So what exactly was that for?" I asked.

"I never saw your water abilities all those years ago," he said. "I was curious at how much you've developed."

I nodded.

"You," Shaw suddenly turned his attention to Riptide. "Stay away from her. Your powers are useless against her."

The boy glared at me and I smiled, showing off my teeth. He turned around and picked up his glass.

"So how about some breakfast?" said Shaw, gesturing to a large table in the center of the deck.

"Sure, why not?" I walked to the table and sat down with everyone.

X.X.X

The rest of the day was like a day on a five star cruise. I had all the food and sodas I wanted, I lounged by the ocean all day and anything I requested was in my hands in a matter of seconds. Shaw stayed near me at all times; playing guard in case I tried anything "amusing". Around dinner time, he provided me with black sweat pants and a stray t-shirt instead of my soaked shorts and tank top. But after dinner, he brought me back down to the submarine. He stopped in the same radar room I remembered from the night before. He had his back to me.

"It's the end of the day," he said. "You've had fifteen hours to think about your answer."

I knew what answer he was talking about and I knew what mine was. "I told you bribery wouldn't change my answer," I said. "I meant that."

He turned around so he was looking at me.

"My answer is no."

He smiled slightly, but the smile reminded me of the fake one parents give their children when they are disappointed in them. But Shaw said nothing. Instead, he walked forward so he was only a couple steps away from me. He reached his index finger out and gently nudged my shoulder. I flew backwards into the wall and slid to ground. I looked up and he was towering over me.

"Then let the games begin."


	25. So Sorry

Once I got up from the floor, Shaw grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the hall. He headed toward the room I had woken up to that morning, but I knew that wasn't our final destination. The room at the end of the hall was.

He opened the oval shaped door and my eyes widened. The difference between my first room and this one was more than I could describe.

The room was baron white and the only light was from a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling. On the floor laid a small, grimy mattress that was as thin as a sleeping bag. There was no blanket or pillow, just a plain mattress. Next to the mattress was a candle sitting in a holder. The rest of the room was empty and the white walls reminded me of an insane asylum.

"Welcome to your new accommodations," said Shaw.

He shoved me in the door and I fell onto the mattress. Before leaving, he twisted the light bulb out of the swinging holder and the room went dark except for the ray of light from the hallway.

"I would light the candle if I were you," he said. "Wouldn't want to freeze. Have a pleasant night."

Then, he closed the door and I was left in total darkness. I immediately emitted some fire from my hand and lit the candle. The fire light was dim and didn't offer much, but it was better than nothing.

When I fell down, my shirt pushed up and my side was visible. There was enough light to notice that the large, dark bruise had faded away completely; I guessed it went away when my powers returned.

"Rebecca." A soft whisper echoed through my mind.

"Professor?"

"I am so sorry that this happened," he said. "I should have known before it happened. I shouldn't have stopped watching Shaw when you arrived; I knew that you being in my care wasn't going to stop him."

"No, if it's anyone's fault it's mine," I debated. "I should have screamed or done something while I was still at the mansion. I let my ego get in the way of my safety. I thought that if I waited until he went outside or into a car or something I could've taken him down on my own. Plus, no one else would be in danger of getting hurt. I didn't know he was a teleporter…I didn't…."

"Shhh," he soothed. "Everything will end up being alright. We will think of something."

He said the word think and I immediately panicked.

"Wait, what are we doing? Can't she hear us?"

He smiled mentally. "No. I have created a wall that Emma Frost cannot penetrate. We can have our conversations here without them ever being known. So whenever you need me, I will always be here."

I sighed a sigh of relief. I wasn't alone anymore.


	26. Courage is Not Welcome Here

Day: 2

It was early in the morning; I guessed by the temperature of the water that surrounded my underwater cell. My night's sleep was about three and-a-half hours long due to the fact that the thin mattress gave me no comfort or support and I was basically sleeping on the tile floor. While I was sleeping, someone must have come into the room because the light bulb was back and turned on.

It was a harsh transition from the one day of luxury to the immediate treatment as a prisoner. The clothes I was given the day before were taken away and I was given black sweat pants, a black t-shirt and some socks.

I sat up on the mattress and stretched out my arms. Then, I loosened out my hands, elongating my fingers as far as they would go. I shook out my hands and the free feeling felt soothing as opposed to the tight muscles in my shoulders and back.

Then, a mechanism in the large, thick door clicked open and door swung inside the room.

The devil resembling man- Azazel – stood in front of the doorway. His bright eyes stared at me.

"Come," he said in his thick accent.

"Am I being summoned?" I sneered.

He took a step toward me. "Sebastian has asked for you."

I smiled sarcastically. "Joy."

I stood and walked out of the door walked out of the cell. Azazel grabbed my arm and guided me up the stairs, not to the end of the hall where Shaw's quarters were.

The next floor was empty. The walls were a dull pearl, reminding me of a hospital. There was nothing in the hallway, which added an eeriness to it. Azazel brought me to the end of the hall and opened the door. I stepped inside cautiously.

There was nothing in the room except a long, vertical metal table. Where my ankles, waist and one of my hands were going to be there were restraints. The ankle and waist restraints were just straps but the one hand restraint resembled a mitten. I was confused as to why there was only one hand restraint, but I didn't ask.

Azazel closed the door and nudged me further into the room. I knew I was going to be placed on the table and yet I was still scared. I felt the panic and survival instincts begin to rush through my system.

Azazel walked forward and I moved backward like we were two magnets repelling each other. I continued to back up until I backed up against the wall. Azazel smirked and went to grab my shoulders. I brought my hands up to my shoulders and two fans of air pushed his hands away. Then I clapped – my fingers facing him – and Azazel flew away from me. I began to run for the door, but it swung open and Shaw stood in the doorway.

"You had your chance to escape this," he said.

He put his pointer finger on my sternum and pushed. With the one slight tap, I flew back across the room and slammed into the wall. My head made a large bang as it hit the hard, tile wall and I was unconscious before I slid to the ground.

X.X.X

I woke up to cold metal pushing against my back. My stiff neck hinted to me that my head was dangling and I realized my chin was brushing against the cool skin on my neck.

The tingling in my left arm almost itched because it was locked above my head and the blood rushed away from it. I tried to move my hand and there was enough room in the restraint to make a fist, but even that was difficult so I reopened my hand.

I could feel my feet resting against a shelf on the bottom of the table. I moved them gently and noticed my socks had been taken off.

My waist was strapped down tightly and I had no way of moving away from the table.

The only normal feeling I had was my right arm which dangled loosely by my side.

I groaned as I slowly lifted my head, the even tighter muscles in my neck contracting. The crown of my head tapped the metal and I finally opened my eyes.

The bright light hurt my eyes and I realized how much my head was throbbing from my crash with the wall. Shaw was sitting in a chair across from me, his legs crossed and his fingers toying with a button on his shirt.

He looked up and saw that I was coming to. He smiled and stood.

"Welcome back," he said. "You took a while to wake up. You're lucky I'm in a good mood and not in a rush."

"How long…was I out?" My voice was strained and I rolled my head, cracking my neck.

"A couple hours." He took a few steps forward. "But that doesn't really matter."

"What are you doing, Shaw? Why?"

"You are obviously not going to make the right choice on your own. So, I have a few…methods of persuasion I'd like to try."

He smiled. I knew exactly what he was going to do; I knew before he even asked the question.

"I have a chamber deep in his vessel," he began, "that I will be going into three times a day. That chamber allows me to become stronger than a nuclear bomb. And do you what I will do with that power?"

"You'll beat fifteen year old girls so you can feel superior but you know in your mind that the girl is stronger?"

He laughed softly. "I admire your courage." He closed the space in between us with two steps. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the metal.

"But courage is not welcome here."

I grunted at the pain of the blow and he let go of me. I grabbed my head with my right hand.

"Hey genius, you forgot something," I said, waving my right hand.

"Everything has a purpose, my dear."

I swallowed. He reached his hand out and I flinched involuntarily. His eyebrows raised, but his hand continued forward and he stroked the black strap on my waist.

"This fabric is a new innovation. It's impervious to all of your powers except one, of course."

"Which one is that?"

"Lightning."

I blinked several times in shock and realization. "That's what you want from me. The lightning."

"You will not unleash your true power until you control all five elements; you will not be a realized Class Five mutant until then. And you can't emit lightning with both hands strapped down. So I'm going to help you reach that control with anger."

"Anger?"

"It adds a level of intensity that cannot come from anything else."

"Anger provides instability: something I've worked for ten years to push away."

"Then I guess we have some work to do."

I let my head fall back on the table and I held back tears that were welling behind my eyelids.

I opened my eyes again and Shaw's face was just inches away from mine. I flinched back. He moved to where his lips aligned with my ear.

"You show me rage and power, and I'll stop."

My heart skipped a beat. I knew I couldn't show him rage; that I wasn't going to give him what he wanted. I fisted both hands and took a few deep breaths. I would just have to endure whatever he had coming.

Shaw took a few steps back, but he stayed too close to me for my comfort. He reached forward and moved his hand over to my side. He lifted my shirt and exposed my bare stomach. Then he took his thumb and pressed it into my abdomen.

He left his thumb on my skin for no more than three seconds, but the pain was overwhelming.

It felt like I had been shot multiple times and I was slowly bleeding out. My skin that he had touched went from bright red to black and blue in a matter of seconds.

I screamed at the unexpected intensity of the pain, slamming my fist into the side of the table. I felt the metal come into my grasp several times, but I let go each time. I wasn't going to show him I could bend metal yet; I needed every advantage I could.

I tried to control myself; to not give Shaw his satisfaction. But I screamed for another good five seconds before I clamped my jaw shut and swallowed the end of the scream.

I didn't realize my eyes were closed until they snapped open when Shaw laughed.

"I'm glad…"I coughed and restarted my sentence. "I'm glad you find this…" Another cough. "Funny."

"I just thought you were stronger," he sighed.

Suddenly, the competitive part of me shot to the front of my mind, just like the five year old me. I went straight faced.

"Do it again," I said.

His eyebrows raised, but he reached for me again, my other side this time. He pressed his index finger onto my skin and waited for a reaction. Now ready for the intense pain, I clenched my fist and held my jaw. I closed my eyes for the thirty seconds the pain radiated through me, but once it subsided I opened my eyes and slowly unclenched my jaw and fist. I didn't let a scream escape my throat and I smirked.

Shaw stared at me with a look that almost resembled admiration. But instead of saying anything, he just moved on to the next part of my body, slowly increasing the pain.

By the time the session was over I looked like a giraffe, spotted all over by large, black and blue spots. Shaw finally released me from the restraints and when I put my weight back onto my knees they gave out.

I hit the floor on all fours and Shaw snickered. I slowly got my footing back and got to standing. It hurt to take a step forward, but I persisted. I didn't entirely mind the pain; it was showing Shaw that I was stronger than he thought I was. I never released my powers; I didn't even have an instinct to.

Shaw escorted me back to my cell, holding my bruised arm as we moved through the hallway. I flinched as his pressure pressed against the bruises, but I put the pain to the back of my mind.

We reached the cell and Shaw didn't let go of me until I was in the middle of it. He saw the wave of exhaustion that began to consume me.

"You may want to rest up," he said. "We'll be seeing each other again in a few hours."

He smiled and left, locking the door behind him. I nearly collapsed onto the thin mattress, looking for any kind of comfort I could find. Before I drifted off to sleep, I thought one thing to myself, hoping Professor Xavier would hear.

"_I'm ok_."

I didn't sleep for very long. After closing my eyes for twenty minutes, I shot awake. Nightmares flooded my mind, replaying the early morning's activities. I sat on the cot for the next two hours, trying to at least rest my body. I made an inference at that point that I wouldn't be sleeping very much for the next few days.

When the time came, Azazel returned and I was brought back to the room. After a much longer session, I couldn't get myself to walk until ten minutes after it was over because Shaw had bruised the bottom of my feet. He offered to carry me but I rejected emphatically. I ended up walking back myself, but it took me a good fifteen minutes to get downstairs.

There was one more session after that. Once that ended, I could barely see any skin on myself- it was all black and blue. For some reason though, he never touched my face. It remained safe and clear from injury except the pink scar.

I continued to persevere and only screamed twice in the last two sessions. I let my pain out by cutting Shaw's head off multiple times in my thoughts.

Around midnight, Shaw came to my cell. He only mentioned three sessions, but knowing him, he could change his mind in an instant.

"What do you want?" I asked, sitting up on the bed.

"I just wanted to say how proud I am of you," he said in a coy manner.

"Proud?"

"You are strong and stubborn. Like me."

In that moment, I cut off something much more precious to Shaw than his head.

"I am nothinglike you. Now get out."

He chuckled. "We'll see how that answer differs in the next few days."

He turned his back and I wanted to burn him to death with a flick of my wrist. But I held back.

For the next day and-a-half I held my ground.


	27. The Same Rules Apply

Day: 3

Every torture session got more and more intense. The next day and-a-half was brutal and it was getting harder not to scream and fight back. But I didn't slip and tried not to show weakness. Shaw seemed a little irritated that his methods weren't working, but he never seemed to worried about getting me to crack eventually; he thought he had me all figured out.

The morning of day three, I was brought into something new.

This time I was bound the same way, but I was in a different place. This room had a window in it- the kind of window that only allowed the person on the other side to see me, but I couldn't see them. Shaw stood there and watched.

Then Emma Frost walked in, sauntering in her arrogant style. She smirked at me as if she was going to enjoy herself. She said something to me before it started.

"The same rules apply."

Then she took a seat across from me. She went into her diamond form and her eyes curved as the worst mental torture I've ever experience began.

I knew she was pulling from Shaw's memories because she showed me images that she never could have witnessed. She showed me images of the Holocaust and the terrible pain endured, and memories of kids being ripped from their parents' arms as they were separated in the camps.

Then she went deep into the folds of my brain and found memories that I tried to keep hidden. She played my mother's death over and over until I as practically soaked in my own tears. She spoke into my mind while projecting the images.

"_It's your fault she's dead_," she said over and over.

I lost myself once. Frost was berating my mind with images of what Shaw wanted for me and what he wanted me to become. I was a monster.

In one thought, we were taking over the White House. I looked manic, almost enjoying myself as I took innocent lives, leading the invasion. When we finally arrived in the Oval Office and took out the guard, we stood over the president, beaming. Shaw said I could have the honor. I smiled and lightning coursed through the president's body until he hung limp in his chair.

I couldn't stand to see myself like my worst nightmare; I was already in tears. But when the images continued endlessly, I lost it.

I threw my right arm wildly, sending out a giant wave of fire. It wasn't precise or sharp; I just wanted the anger out of my system. The flare hit Frost and she flew back and hit the window, shaking the glass. Her diamonds were red with heat.

I kept my head down, trying to flush the images out of the front of my mind while trying to remember to breath. I held my right hand in a tight fist.

She stood and brushed herself off. She looked into the window and smiled. Shaw then came into the room through a hidden door in the wall. He smiled widely and walked toward me.

"Now there is some progress."

X.X.X

He opened the straps on my hand and feet and I fell to the ground, landing on my knees. I sat there crying while Shaw stood over me and watched. He stayed there until I gathered myself twenty minutes later. He escorted me to the cell, and once he left I broke down once more.

"_Rebecca_," called Professor Xavier. "_Are you alright_?"

"_I'm sorry_," I said. "_I couldn't take it. I just wanted it to stop_."

"_I know; it's alright. You're not alone_."

"_I need to get out of here_."

"_Don't worry. We have a plan_."

X.X.X

I made a vow to myself that day that I wouldn't let them do that to me again. I spent all day reliving the memories and making sure I was completely unaffected by them.

While I was doing this, I would create a mental wall of unimportant thoughts that would mask the others I was truly concentrating on. I would think about finding a way out or I would act scared about when they were going to come for me next. I would focus so vigorously that those thoughts would create a barrier around my entire memory center so it would be all Frost could read. I could feel her getting agitated as she tried to pry the walls away, but my mind was stronger than her will to break it.

In the late afternoon, I was brought into the room and Frost tried to make me crack again. I just sat there, unaffected. After four hours, I heard Shaw bang against the window. He barged into the room and stared at me with rage in his eyes.

"You're strong," he said, breathing heavily. "But too strong for your own good."

I just sat there smiling.


	28. New and Improved

Day: 4

Sometimet the next night, when the time came around, Azazel walked me into a room with no chair or table. It was just a plain, white room.

Shaw and Frost were standing in the corner, smiling.

I walked in and the door closed behind me. Shaw walked forward, keeping the smirk on his face. He raised his hand. He tapped my shoulder and I flew backward into the wall. I fell back to the ground and Frost stepped next to Shaw. Then my mind was flushed with images of myself getting beaten by the two of them. I felt the pain throughout my body as she projected Shaw's plans for me.

While she was doing that Shaw would continue to fling me around like some kind of rag doll. They had created an unstoppable tag team that I was helpless against. I held my ground for a few days.


	29. Sparks Fly

Day: 4 (Part 2)

After suffering through two sessions of Shaw's new and improved method of torture throughout the night, I felt like my whole being should have just disintegrated.

My head was now pounding from all of the prodding Frost had done. My vision as blurry and I figured I would slip unconscious from exhaustion soon. My body ached everywhere it could, new bruises now on top of older ones.

I sat up on the mattress with my back against the wall. I laid my legs out, trying not to strain any muscles. I rubbed the back of my head with my right hand and then laid my hand on the cold, tile wall, creating an improvisational ice pack.

Then a black patch flew out of nowhere and trapped my hand against the wall.

My gaze snapped toward the door. It was closed. I looked around the room for any possible entry way, but came up with nothing. I curled up, pulling my knees forward. My feet laid firmly on the floor.

Then, two more patches shot out and my feet were glued to the floor. I put my left hand behind my back and tried looking around again, looking to see if I missed any open areas. That's when I noticed my mind was being blurred.

From my interactions with Dad, Professor Xavier and Emma, I knew what it felt like when someone else was occupying my brain along with me.

I tried to put up a mental wall but she was already there and I wasn't getting her out. I could tell, however, that she hadn't gotten past the wall Professor Xavier had constructed.

I figured Azazel was in the room, waiting for me to bring my left hand out.

"I know you're here," I said. "I'm not moving."

Out of nowhere, I head Shaw chuckled and I began to see reality again. Like I believed, Azazel was perched in front of my left side, waiting to strike. Shaw and Frost were standing in front of door, Shaw's arm around Emma's waist.

"See, I told you!" he exclaimed. "She's inherited the family brains; she's brilliant."

I glared in the direction of his voice. "I didn't inherit anything from you," I said. "My mom happened to be brilliant."

He nodded and his smile faded. We sat in silence for a minute. I didn't realize Azazel and I were still in a standoff until my left hand began to tingle behind my back.

Azazel stared at me with anger in his eyes. He always completed his tasks and I was keeping him from doing that.

"If you think I'm going to move on my own will you might as well be locked in a mental institution," I said, tilting my head.

Azazel cocked his head as well, waiting.

"Becca, don't make this any harder for…"

"Don't call me Becca."

I glared at Shaw with eyes that could've melted any other person's soul. "Only my mom called me that."

"I see the wound has yet to heal," he commented.

"I don't think it ever will."

While talking with Shaw, I let my guard down for no more than four seconds as I adjusted my hand. I had let my elbow slip out from behind me and that was all the chance Azazel needed. He grabbed my elbow with supersonic reflexes.

Once I was in his grasp I knew I had lost this standoff, but I continued to fight with all of my might.

I pulled against him with all of the strength I could muster but I was already weak from Shaw's new favorite past time. Plus, Azazel is stronger than an average man and I wouldn't have had much of a shot against him anyway.

It didn't take him very long to force my hand against the wall and slap the restraint on. I realized the patches were large pieces of the black fabric used as the restraints on the table. So I was pinned to the wall completely defenseless.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on or are you just going to surprise me?" I hid my fear as best as I could, but my voice shook as I said the word surprise.

"I think you may surprise us," said Shaw, smugly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Emma here has sense something in your mind she is unfamiliar with."

"What, brainwaves? I know that must be a big change for you."

Shaw actually laughed out loud. "No, my darling angel found a wall in your memory center."

The two of them stared at each other and I was waiting for one of them to start sticking their tongue down the others' throat.

"A wall?" I acted oblivious, but my heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, and we're getting quite curious as to what you're hiding from us."

Emma stepped forward then, kneeling down to my level.

"I won't bite," she cooed.

I scoffed, turning my head away. Then her two firm hands grabbed my checks and yanked my face so we were eye to eye. I tried to squirm out of her grasp but I knew it was no use. I tried to communicate with Professor X before she broke the wall.

"_I'm sorry_," I said.

Then Emma entered my brain and the wall broke. I felt all of the memories flood to the front of my mind freely, nothing holding them back.

Suddenly, almost all of the memories vanished and I couldn't remember any of the contents of the professor and I's conversations. I knew we had spoken, but about what I had no clue. Then, I felt a slight second presence leave my mind.

Emma locked eyes with mine as she focused. When she reached the end of my mind, I felt her slowly retreat, but she retraced her steps to make sure she didn't miss anything. Then, my head cleared as she left. A moment later, my memories flooded back behind a wall much stronger than the first.

"_I'm sorry_," I heard faintly. "_It was the only way_."

"_It's fine. I'm ok_," I assured him.

Emma stood back up and faced Shaw. "She's been speaking to him," she said.

She didn't have to mention who "he" was- Shaw already knew.

"And?" he persisted.

"And nothing. That's all I know. He seems to erase her memory of their conversations once they're done speaking. He did, however, leave her the memory of him telling her that he and his X-Men are constructing a plan."

Shaw glared at me as if I had betrayed him somehow.

"Azazel." Shaw flicked his head toward me.

Azazel poofed in front of me and sliced the restraints off me with a precise precision. I rubbed my wrists and stood up slowly. Shaw and his group turned their backs to me.

"They are going to try and rescue her," said Emma.

"I know." Shaw thought for a minute. "Kill them. All of them."

My heart sank and the fire burned in my palms.

"You don't go near them!" My voice came out as a growl and I didn't notice I had shot fire until it was halfway to Shaw.

Shaw whipped around and absorbed the fire easily. I looked down and my left hand was pressing against my upper arm as a stopper.

"I see you care about these X-Men," said Shaw.

"They are the only people who care about me, not just my powers."

"Well, they won't care for much longer."

Before he could say another word, I hurled another wave of fire aimed at the center of his forehead. He, again, absorbed it with ease. But, as his anger grew, he threw it back. I cupped my hands and planted my feet. With my outstretched hands, I caught the fire. I grunted as the force hit me, but the large, disorganized wave came into my control and formed into a large, perfect ball.

A smile lit up my face. I never knew I could reabsorb my attacks until that moment; I never had anyone throw my attacks back at me before.

Slowly, the ball shrunk as the fire retracted into my palm. I fisted my hands and the fire disappeared.

Shaw stared at me for a moment, but he wasn't going to let my anger get away.

"I think we'll go tonight," he mused to himself. "She's getting stronger and if they distract us, she could easily get away."

He looked at me and my smile vanished.

"It's too bad," he rambled. "They could have been great assets. But that telepath has already corrupted them."

"Professor Xavier is a good man," I defended. "He wouldn't corrupt anyone."

"Maybe I'll kill him first. He is handicapped; he couldn't get away."

"Stop." The anger began to boil again, hotter than before. My hands began to get very hot.

"Maybe I'd mess with him a little before I killed him," he continued. "Make him dance."

"Shaw, enough."

My hands burned as I fisted them tightly and a vein began to protrude from my forehead.

Then, Shaw stopped and looked at Emma. His eyebrows raised in surprise and she nodded, smiling at whatever she was sharing with him in his head.

"But he's very powerful so maybe I wouldn't kill him."

I didn't notice I was holding my breath until I exhaled deeply.

"Maybe I'd go for someone…younger instead."

I held my breath again.

"There is a young man at that school. His name is Alex, I believe."

My hands burned so hot I thought they were going to melt away.

"He'd be fun to have around with his mutation. However, I do like my yacht intact. Plus, I believe I'm not his type; he prefers beautiful young ladies like yourself."

He smiled at me as my cheeks began to go dark red as a mix of anger and embarrassment colored them.

"So maybe I would just kill him too."

I raised my hand to strike when my eyes flashed yellow. My gaze darted over to my hand where a lightning bolt had begun to spark. I whipped my fist shut and held it tightly against my chest.

Slowly, the burning sensation faded and I felt my control coming back. I glanced over at Shaw and he was staring at me with wonder. The room had gone eerily quiet.

"No!" stammered Shaw. "No, let it out!"

He ran across the room and grabbed my shoulders.

"I'm going to kill him; I'm going to cut his fucking head off!"

I closed my eyes and shut them away from his. He shook me back and forth.

"Back off," I whispered.

"Don't tell me what…"

"I said back off!"

The air I had been gathering in my hands released and Shaw flew back. I breathed heavily, standing in top of the cot. Shaw was sitting on the floor, stunned. Azazel and Emma stared at him and they didn't know what to do.

Shaw stood himself up slowly and brushed off his pants.

"Progress," he said. "My favorite word. Well done."

He then turned around and left. His cronies tried to gather what had just happened and followed behind him.

Once the door closed, I let myself fall onto the cot and buried my head in the dirt stained fabric, letting my tears slowly create a dark spot.

I cried for another half-an-hour until Azazel appeared, signaling it was time to go upstairs. I gathered myself as best as I could, wiping the last tears off my face. I took a deep breath and followed him out the door.


	30. Shhh

**I can't believe I'm at the 30****th**** chapter! This is going by so quickly. This is by far one of my favorite chapters so I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

On night five, I had a bruise on almost every body part of my body. I tried to rub the soreness from my extremely tight shoulders, but it was no use. My muscles were fixed into the cringing position because of the last five days.

I was sitting in my cell, beginning my nightly ritual of trying my hardest not to fall asleep. I had noticed there was a chair nailed to the floor in the center of the room but I didn't know what it was doing there. I kind of figured I would find out.

Then, I heard the large lock on the outside of the door turn open and I took a deep, angered, slightly scared breath. Frost walked in, carrying a metal tray. I felt a pit of nerves start to develop in the center of my stomach.

I desperately wanted to ask her what it was and what it was for.

But I couldn't let my mask of fearlessness be broken; even though I'm sure it already was. She placed the metal tray on a stand next to the chair.

As she walked out, she smiled at me with an evil glint in her eye. She left the room and I was again alone.

I stood tentatively, walking slowly toward the tray. Then, I felt a presence behind me. Azazel grabbed me by my shoulders and teleported. We reappeared next to the chair and he threw me into it. He teleported again.

I began to push myself out of the chair when Azazel came up behind me and pushed me violently back. When my ankles hit the legs of the chair, metal binds closed around them. Then Azazel put his right arm around my neck, restraining me in a tight chokehold. He threw his left arm across my chest and held me down like a seatbelt.

I struggled with him, putting my hands in between his arm and my neck. I heated them quickly, a flame slowly burning inside my palms.

Azazel flinched and shifted his arm, but he never let go.

The door opened again but I was struggling too much to notice who it was. I stuck my left hand further in between us and continued to heat it. My right hand slipped and was holding the front of his arm.

The other person's shoes clicked on the tile floor and stopped in front of me.

Shaw took hold of my right hand and slammed it down on the cold, metal arm of the chair. The chair shook with the impact.

"Shhh," he whispered.

The fear in my heart intensified and my arm began to tremble. He pushed down harder and absorbed the energy in my arm. It slowly stopped moving. Without thinking, my open palm clamped shut and I held on to Shaw's hand with all of my strength. I couldn't control what my hand did- I was acting on pure fear.

Shaw smiled and reached behind him toward the metal tray. He picked up a syringe, its empty tube glinting in the light of the room.

I knew immediately that he wanted to fill it with my blood.

He brought the syringe about half an inch away from my arm, aligning where he was going to inject the needle into my vein. With my left hand still in between my neck and Azazel's arm, I fisted it and gently titled it to the left. I felt my right ankle become free and air rushed against it.

Then, I threw my leg out. I brought my leg around from the right to the left quickly. Shaw jumped back but his hand was still moving forward. His hand moved over to the right of his target and the needle sliced into my skin. It cut through my flesh until half way down my lower arm when Shaw let go.

I screamed in pain and grasped the gash on my arm, trying to apply pressure. But the gash went down half of my arm and my small hand couldn't cover the whole thing. Blood was pouring down my arm and creating a pool on the floor. Azazel continued to hold me down and Shaw stood there, looking as if he was about to burst into laughter.

"Now look at what you did!" said Shaw. He took a small container off the tray and put it under my arm. It began to collect the blood falling to the floor. Then, he took a small, plastic pipette and put it at the edge of the cut. He sucked up enough blood to fill the entire pipette, and then put it back.

I screamed again as I began to get dizzy because of the lack of blood. Shaw finally grabbed a towel and held it tight against my arm.

"Azazel, go get another towel and wipe up the floor," said Shaw.

Azazel teleported and quickly returned with a large towel in hand. He mopped up the fallen blood quickly.

"Great. Now can you get me a chair?"

Once again, Azazel left and quickly returned with the requested item. He placed the chair in front of my arm and Shaw took a seat.

"Now can you please give us some privacy?"

I pulled my eyes away from the cut to look at Shaw. I didn't know what he was planning; I couldn't read his face. But I never could.

Azazel nodded and he was gone. Shaw and I just sat there in silence as he kept pressure on the cut. It was long, but shallow and I could feel myself losing the dizzy sensation as the bleeding began to stop. I glanced at my left hand and it was covered in blood.

"If you had just sit still none of this would have happened," said Shaw, condescendingly.

"I wasn't going to just sit."

"Why not?"

"If you had my blood, you wouldn't need me."

He tilted his head, confused. "Please explain your logic."

"You're a doctor who studied genetics, right?"

"Yes."

"If you had my blood you could end up finding some way to replicate my cells and have an endless supply of my powers. You wouldn't need me."

I swallowed. "You would kill me."

Shaw chuckled. "You don't give yourself enough credit. Yes, you are a class five mutant with an incredible mutation but without the discipline you created that power would be controlling you. You are the key to everything."

I turned my head away. "Don't lie to me."

"Why would I keep you this long if I was just going to kill you?"

I looked at his face and his bright eyes seemed be telling the truth. A sighed a quick sigh of relief.

Shaw lifted the towel to see that the bleeding had stopped.

"There," he said.

I got a sudden, almost parental warmth from that one word. It sounded how a dad would sound if they were calming their child down. I was taken aback by the sudden feeling of affection that moved across the room. I shifted in the chair.

He put the blood soaked towel on the tray and got a white bandage and some gauze. He put the gauze on the cut and then wrapped the bandage around my arm tightly. He closed it with a small metal clip.

"I'll change the gauze in the morning," he said.

Then, he collected the container and put it back on the tray. He put a silver cover on the container and picked up the tray. He began to walk to the door.

"Hey," I said. "Aren't you going to unlock my other leg?"

He smiled. "You got yourself out of one, you can do it again."

At that moment, I realized that that was the first time he had seen me bend metal. He never acknowledged it but I assumed that's why he looked so giddy after I swung at him.

He walked out of the door and left the door open.


	31. I Doubt She'll Be Causing Trouble

I sat back in the chair and held my fist out. The metal slowly moved until it was straight and my ankle could move freely. I stood up slowly. I walked toward the door and I heard Shaw talking.

"What do you say we go and relax on the deck," he said. "I doubt she'll be causing trouble tonight."

Then I heard the door open, several pairs of feet going up the ladder and then the large bang of the door shutting.

All of a sudden, I began to feel very tired. All of the exhaustion I had pushed away and then had been replaced by terror was slowly creeping back. I yawned and began to have trouble keeping my eyes open.

I looked at the room and I wasn't very keen on sleeping on the thin mattress on the cold floor. I looked at the open door and scanned down the empty hallway. I figured Shaw left the door open and they went on the deck on purpose; to see what I would do, if anything. I took a moment to decide what I should do. I took a deep breath and began to walk into the hallway.

It felt odd walking down the hallway alone; every time I had walked down it someone was with me, holding my shoulder to keep me in line.

As I used the remainder of my energy to walk the straight walkway, it became harder and harder to step forward. I looked through each doorway that had been left open. The room right to the left of the cell was the room I had woken up in the first day. When I reached the end of the hallway, I came across a very ornate room.

The walls were covered in priceless pieces of art and a fancy light fixture hung from the ceiling. The bed was covered in silk sheets and a heavy blanket. Across from the bed was a small alcohol chest. I knew I had wandered into Shaw's main quarters.

To the right of the bed was a large, comfortable looking chair. I stumbled over to it and plopped into the soft cushion. I smiled; I hadn't felt comfort like that in what seemed like an eternity. On the head of the chair was a light blanket. I pulled it down and spread it out so it covered my entire body. I sighed a sigh of content. I was pretty sure I would hear about this later, but I didn't care. I felt my breathing slow and my mind calmed as I feel into a well needed sleep.


	32. It Just Went Blank

- Shaw

We were sitting on the deck of my boat, laughing and drinking some champagne I had received as a gift. Emma was lounging on one of the lounge chairs, stretching out her long legs. I couldn't get enough of those bikinis she wore, but to have a relationship other than professional would be hazardous. Azazel sat on one of the bar stools and Janos stood at the edge of the ship, looking out at the horizon.

"I think we made some excellent progress," I stated proudly.

Azazel chuckled. "Is that all you can talk about? The girl?"

Janos laughed as well. "Yeah, some people are going to start thinking you actually care about her."

"Of course I care. She will be our answer to everything we've ever wanted."

"She's begun to wander now," said Emma casually.

I chuckled. I watched Emma carefully. Suddenly, her body language shifted and her eyes darted up to me.

"It just went blank," she said.

"What?"

"Her mind. It just...shut off."

I ran from behind the bar and opened the door. I slid down the ladder and Emma followed quickly behind me.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"Your quarters."

I went down the second ladder and took a sharp left.

"_Could we have done too much_?" I thought. "_Did I go too far?"_

I ran into my quarters and she was lying in my chair, a blanket draped over her. Because of the blanket I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. I took two fingers and reached out to check her pulse.


	33. Hadn't Bothered Him Before

I felt the warmth of two fingers touch against my neck. I thought I should open my eyes, but I was too comfortable. I hoped I was just dreaming. But then I heard two deep sighs, and a gush of warm breath brushed against my cheek. I forced myself to open my eyes.

Kneeling in front of me was Shaw. Panic consumed his face and he stared at me with worried eyes. Behind him was Frost, looking even more panicked than he did.

With a gasp, I sat up and the blanket slid off my chest.

"I..."

Terror overtook me for a moment, but then I quickly collected myself.

"I don't have to apologize to you," I said.

I crossed my arms, holding my stance.

"It's ok," he said, calmly. "Go back to sleep."

"...What?"

"I said go to sleep." Shaw had quickly fixed his composure. "I don't need you dying on me out of exhaustion."

"You were panicked before," I said.

"We thought you had gotten away," he answered firmly.

I thought about his answer. "No. You thought I died. You checked my pulse."

He sighed but never admitted I was correct. "Go back to sleep. Or would you rather we go upstairs..."

"You don't have to threaten me," I said, interrupting him.

I began to get up to leave but he pushed me back down gently.

"Sleep here. You can't perform well exhausted."

He tried to smirk in his disturbing way, but his game was off.

I was going to argue; say that my insomnia hadn't bothered him before. But I was too drained to say anything. So I laid my head back down. Shaw turned the lights off as they left the room and I fell back asleep.


	34. Alright

Day: 6

Two days after Shaw came up with the new way to try to beat me into submission, the mental and physical beatings continued more frequently. I was bruised all over my body; I could barely move. I would fear closing my eyes because when I did during these sessions my mind would be tortured with thoughts that weren't mine.

That night they continued to pummel me with no mercy. In what was the fifth session of the day I was strapped down again, as if Shaw knew if I were to attack I would be too strong with all of my limbs at access.

Shaw was getting angry at the lack of results, hitting me harder and harder. Then he hit me with the most force I had ever felt. He held on to my abdomen and pushed what seemed like the energy of an eighteen wheeler speeding down a highway into me.

The energy hit me and it felt as if I should have just exploded into bits. I felt the bruise develop and my back arched in pain.

Then, Emma invaded my mind.

"Becca?"

I raised my head. "Mom?"

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Just give in! They are going to kill you if you don't."

"Mom, you're dead. I'm sorry."

"But I'm not. I'm right here."

"No, you're not. Now please..." I swallowed hard. "Leave."

Her lip quivered. "I thought you loved me."

"You know I love you."

"Then listen to me!"

"STOP!"

My anger peaked and I couldn't just stand there anymore. I took my free arm and swung it across my body.

"Alright!" I screamed my throat raw.

The fire that followed the motion curved and was hotter than anything I had ever thrown. The red and orange flame spanned the entire room; it was intense.

Frost ran behind Shaw and he absorbed the fire in one large armful. Then both of them looked at me with curious eyes. Frost actually looked scared while Shaw was ecstatic.

I stood there on the vertical table, grasping for breath.

"Alright," I managed to say.

Shaw walked forward and tilted his head.

"I'll be on your side."

Shaw stared at me for a moment and then looked at Frost.

"She's telling the truth," she said.

I began to go lightheaded and my vision blurred. Shaw cut the patch on my hand and my upper body collapsed into his chest.


	35. Maybe This Is For the Better

I didn't wake up until the next morning. My head was resting on a fluffy, soft pillow and I could tell a warm blanket was draped over me. When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted by the room I had first woken up in when this week had begun. The same golden blanket puffed into my sight line and the thin, red curtain draped over the small porthole.

My body hurt as I tried to sit up, the bruises that covered my body aching as I twisted onto my side and slowly sat up.

My locket bounced against my skin as it moved with me. I grabbed the heart in my hand and opened the locket. I stared at the picture, a lone tear rolling down my cheek.

I took a long moment of silence as I remembered the day exactly ten years ago that I had looked at my mom for the last time. I exhaled deeply as I ended the moment of silence.

Then, almost on cue, the door opened. My back was diagonal to the door; I was sitting with one leg on the bed and the other with my foot on the floor so I couldn't see who was there.

"Good morning, my daughter."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling. I cringed as he said "daughter".

"I'm not your daughter," I scowled.

I let my locket drop back onto my neck. Shaw walked up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders and rested his knee on the bed. My shoulders shot up involuntarily and my heart began to beat frantically.

"You know, I never wanted to hurt you Rebecca," he said.

"I never would've guessed," I said softly.

He ignored me. "I never did. I want to help you unleash your full potential. The two of us- we could create a whole new world together. This world could be ours. You wouldn't have to hide your strength anymore- there would be no more holding back."

I closed my eyes, holding back tears and waited a moment to give a response. His words slowly seeped into my brain and I felt myself beginning to believe him. I had this sudden feeling like I was going to throw up, and yet I felt my shoulders relax.

"I think…" I swallowed back tears. "I think you may be right."

I couldn't believe how weak I had become; that I had let myself down. Yet, I said my statement without my voice wavering or a feeling of doubt in my mind. I turned around to look at him and Shaw was smiling, his white teeth gleaming.

"We have yet to unleash your lightning," he said. "But it will be much easier now."

He squeezed my shoulders and headed for the door.

"Come to the deck when you're ready," he said.

When I heard the door finally close, my head collapsed onto the pillows and I just laid there and bawled.

X.X.X

After twenty minutes, I finally gathered myself and walked into the hallway. I took a long, deep breath and then climbed up the two ladders to the deck. My head filled with confusion as I noticed the wooden platform the boat was docked to. The other end of the dock was attached to a huge island where hundreds of palm trees lined the shore. A beautiful, white beach was to our left.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Welcome to my private island," said Shaw proudly. "My own island deep in the Pacific. We docked last night while you were asleep.

"Oh."

I cracked my neck, trying to shake the remaining fog out of my system. "So are we leaving the boat?"

"Oh no," said Shaw.

"There's no house on the island," commented Emma. "Just a few cabanas."

I nodded and my stomach began to growl intensely. Shaw chuckled behind me.

"Would you like some breakfast?" he asked.

"If none of your sidekicks poisoned it, then sure."

I heard chuckles from behind me.

"Why would we have poisoned you?" asked Azazel.

"I don't know. Bad mood…practical joke."

Azazel scoffed and I walked over to the bar Shaw was standing at.

"Do eggs work for you?" he asked.

"Fine."

"Shaw, what happened to 'she turned to our side'?" asked Riptide.

I glared at him. "It wasn't because I wanted to." I held back from adding 'you moron' to the end of that. "I did it for my life."

"She'll soften up over time." Shaw glanced over at me. "I promise you."

He put a plate of eggs in front of me and I wanted to just attack it without mercy. But knowing that my stomach held nothing but rolls twice a day for the last six days, I ate slowly.

After I finished off the eggs and licked the plate, I retired back to my room, claiming that I was tired. I laid on top of the bed and stared at the ceiling for the majority of the two hours. I dozed off occasionally, but not for long.

About two hours after I had come down, it was around noon and the water gliding against one of the walls was becoming very warm. I heard the door open and I shot up from my lying down position. Shaw came in, casually cracking his knuckles.

"It seems some of your old friends have arrived," he said nonchalantly.

I gulped as I absorbed what he said. "The X-Men are here?"

"Indeed they are. Get dressed; it's time for them to see the real you."

He began to leave.

"Wait!" I took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

"Do you which ones are here?"

"I do."

"Is there a kid who looks about nineteen? He has short, blond hair; around five-eight."

Shaw looked at me, concerned, but he shook his head. "No."

I nodded. "Thanks. I'll get dressed."

Shaw left the room and I saw he had left an outfit for me. I put on the white Capri pants, black t-shirt and the long, flowing, gray vest that Shaw had left. I stared at myself in the mirror and I could barely recognize who was standing there. My eyes were empty and my face seemed very pale compared to the rest of my body which was covered in dark new bruises and yellow fading ones. My clothes covered the worst ones on my abdomen and I was thankful for that. The bandage that had covered the gash on my arm was no longer needed so my forearm was bare to the cool air. I stood there staring, hoping that I knew what I was doing. Then the door opened and Shaw stood in the doorway.

"Are you ready?" he asked, not looking up from his collar that he was creasing.

I stepped away from the mirror and moved in front of the door. "I think so."

"Now these people are going to try and get you to crack. You can't let them get to you."

"Relax. I said I was on your side. And like I said this morning, maybe you were right all along."

He smiled and I tried very hard not to throw up the bile that suddenly raced up my throat. After l swallowed back the phlegm, the two of us walked up to the deck. The rest of the group was already there, each of them stretching and getting ready.

"Their jet will be landing on the beach," informed Emma.

"Alright," said Shaw, "we'll come out from the trees to the center of the beach; face them head on."

No one acknowledged his command by everyone heard it and everyone was going to follow it. Each of us hopped off the boat and onto the sturdy dock. It was odd to be standing still and not be gently swaying to the rhythm of the waves that rocked the boat.

Shaw led our group down a small pathway into the trees. We walked for a couple of minutes until we reached the point where a second pathway intersected ours. I looked down the new route and saw the clear, blue ocean ahead of us. Then, a large, black jet took over the view and it landed on the soft sand. Doors opened from the belly of the plane and four people came out of the cabin of the gangway. The man leading Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine rolled down the metal plank in his wheelchair.

I took a long, deep breath.

"Get in formation," said Shaw sternly.

I let out a wet laugh. "Formation?"

"You can stand in front with me," he said, ignoring my taunt.

I gathered my laughter when I realized he wasn't kidding and took my place at his side. Emma stood behind us and Angel, Riptide and Azazel stood behind her.

"You're one of us now," said Shaw. "It's time to show them."

Shaw began to walk forward and we all followed. I marched in rhythm with his footsteps as we reached the edge of the line of trees.

The sunlight shined brightly into my eyes, reflecting off the perfectly white sand. Shaw stopped with about twenty feet in between us and the X-Men.

The X-Men's eyes were all fixed on me. Their pupils were like open doors and they didn't try to hide their pain, regret and sense of betrayal toward me.

Most of their eyes lingered down to my right forearm where the bright red scar was beginning to fade to a less potent color. I knew what they were all thinking and I agreed with them- I would probably have that scar for life. The others that weren't staring at my arm scanned the rest of my body, taken by the amount of bruises that dotted my skin.

"Rebecca." Professor Xavier came to the edge of a metal platform that allowed him to maneuver on the sand. "What happened?"

I swallowed. "I'm sorry," I said, sincerely. "I had no choice.

I took a pause. "But maybe this is for the better."

All of them stared at each other as if to confirm that they heard me right. Logan scoffed, stepped forward and held his hand out.

"Come on," he said in his gruff voice. "Let's go."

"No."

He stared at me blankly, his hand still outstretched.

"You're too late," said Shaw proudly. "You had your chance but you let it slip away."

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I looked up at Shaw.

"Rebecca, would you like to show them what you can do?"

I looked back at the X-Men and smiled. "My pleasure."

I took a couple of steps forward and stomped my right foot down. A snake-like form made of sand raised from the ground and I fisted my right hand, taking the mixture of crushed earth and shells into my control.

I planted my feet and pushed my hand forward as hard as I could. The sand raced toward the X-Men and they crouched, getting ready to defend themselves. Right as the sand was going to hit Logan, I whipped my hand around and the sand raced behind me. Before anyone knew what was going on, the sand slammed into Emma, throwing her into one of the trees. She slid to the ground unconscious.

The Hellfire Club stared at me, wondering what possessed me to do that.

"What was that?" asked Shaw, his voice loud with anger and confusion. "What are you doing?"

I turned to my left and looked at him straight in the eye. "I was so tired of her being in my head," I said, dryly.

"Shaw, what have you done?" asked Professor Xavier. "She is out of control; she's out of her right state of mind. She's attacking her own side now."

"Are you calling me insane?"

I glared at the professor but his bright blue eyes didn't back down. As we continued our stare down, I failed to notice that Storm was rising in the air. By the time I saw her figure raise into the sky, two large waves followed her path upward. The waves turned to large columns of water and they began to rush toward me.

"Rebecca, move!" screamed Shaw.

"I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't move, God dammit!"

My limbs were frozen rigidly and my gaze stayed locked on Professor Xavier.

The waves came down toward the beach, aligning themselves for a direct hit with my chest.

Then when the waves were a foot away from my chest, my limbs were released back into my control. I threw my hands in front of my chest and the water hit me. I flew back backward and as I soared, the water collected into a giant ball in front of my chest. With one hand, I directed my trajectory by taking charge of the air behind me, but I kept my hand in front of me and made it seem as if the water was just throwing me wherever it wanted.

I hit the ground and released the water, letting it fall to ground around me, making it look like I never touched it. I slid back and my head made contact with a large rock.

My body came to a stop as I pushed the air against my back and I released the rock from my grasp. It returned quickly to its normal form, instead of looking like a large clump of a play-dough/jell-o mixture that had been molded around my skull. I stayed lying on the ground, playing unconscious.

"Rebecca!" I heard Shaw scream and I felt the sand shifting under his feet as he ran toward me.

Through the professor's thoughts that he projected to me I saw Shaw run over and fall to his knees next to me. Right as he got close enough, I whipped my hand forward.

My hand, which was red from the heat I had been radiating in my palm, reached out and took hold of Shaw's throat. I opened my eyes.

His usually confident, fearless eyes were now wide with shock. I smiled and with the force of my fire, I threw Shaw across the beach and his grunt echoed across the water as he crashed into a palm tree. The tree he hit was now on fire.

I stood up and brushed some of the sand off of me. Then, I began to walk across the beach.

X.X.X

Each member of the Hellfire Club stared at me as I walked past them. None of them tried to stop me; they had no idea what was going on. In the corner of my eye, I saw Shaw stand up and walk back over to the center of the beach. I walked toward the professor and he smiled at me with pride.

"_Well done_," he said telepathically.

I nodded and took my stance next to him. I gave everyone a subtle smile and them to me. Then I turned to Shaw.

He and Emma stood next to each other, both of them equally as confused.

"What…I…" stammered Shaw. "Last night you were telling me the truth; Emma made sure. You had finally cracked."

I looked at the professor and smiled at him. I closed my eyes and felt the barrier in my mind shatter. All of the memories that had been barricaded now floated freely in my brain. I felt Emma lock into my memory center. She watched every conversation we had, listened to Professor Xavier explain the plan to me and she even felt the professor's influence on me when he helped me convincingly give in to their torture.

I opened my eyes and saw Shaw staring at Emma, disbelief spread across his face as she projected my memories to him.

I felt her leave my mind and Shaw's gaze left Emma and turned to me. His stare was hard and cold, no emotion in him. But the betrayal he felt was palpable.

"Kill her."

The Hellfire Club turned to look at him.

He stared back at them angrily. "You heard me; kill her!"

They all nodded to each other and turned to me. Angel began to rise in the air when a red energy blast hit her and she flew across the island, splashing into the water on the other side. I looked behind me and Cyclops had his fingers next to his glasses.

"Work as a team!" he shouted. "Now go!"

"What about the professor?" I asked.

I heard him laugh in my mind. "_I can take care of myself_," he said.

I looked at him and he nodded. I smiled and then turned to the action. Logan and Azazel were popping all over the beach, grunting as each of them attacked each other. Angel had recovered and her and Cyclops began to square off. Emma and Shaw stood next to each other and it looked as if he was whispering to her. Riptide was standing directly in front of me, and funnels began to expand from his hands. Though my focus was on him, I saw Storm beginning to rise in the air and head toward Shaw.

"Storm!" I shouted. "Don't attack him; he'll just absorb it! Just stall him!"

She nodded at my comment, but her gaze stayed fixed on Shaw. When I looked away, Riptide began to twirl at a rapid pace and a giant whirlwind formed around his body. He began to race toward me and I felt the winds beginning to push me back. But I planted my feet and pushed my right hand down toward the ground. A ripple effect ripped through the sand and Riptide was knocked off his feet. The air around him dissipated and he fell harshly on his back.

I stopped the ripple before it could affect anyone else and took the excess sand and raced it toward Riptide. I threw it on top of him and grunted as I cemented him into the ground.

Then, my vision began to blur. I looked up and Emma stared at me with her cold, icy blue eyes. She began to walk toward me.

"_What are you doing_?" she said. "_He is on your side. We all are_."

I fell to my knees as an acute pain shot down my spinal cord. Nothing was hurting me physically, but she was making me believe something had plunged deep into my lower back. As I struggled to look up, I saw her stop dead in her tracks. Her presence vanished from my mind. I looked to my right and Professor Xavier sat there, staring intently at Emma, two fingers pressed against his temple.

"_Take your shot_," he said to me.

It took me a second to gather myself, but once I did, I began to run toward her. I collected air in my hands as I rushed forward and slammed my hand into her chest. The hurricane force wind I had made crashed into her chest and she flew back. She hit several palm fronds before falling on top of a cabana. I looked over at Professor Xavier and he was rubbing his forehead. I ran over to him.

"Are you ok?" I said.

"Yes, I'm alright," he assured me. "She's tough to keep a hold on."

I sighed with relief as he assured me and then I turned to see if anyone else needed help. But as I turned, Logan, Cyclops and Storm were coming back. Each of them had knocked out their aggressor except for Storm, who took my advice and just held Shaw off.

The Hellfire Club was strewn across the beach, tired and defeated. Azazel teleported and helped Riptide out of the sand and then teleported back behind Shaw, as far away from us as possible. When they were both behind him, they collapsed to the sand. Shaw was the only one left standing, however I saw Emma beginning to stand herself up and climb down from the roof of the cabana.

"Cyclops, Storm, get Rebecca onto the jet," ordered the Professor.

I looked at the back of his head with a mix of questions.

"We'll take care of him," he said, answering me. "You've done enough."

I nodded and Cyclops, Storm and I began to walk up the gangway.

"Wait!" shouted Shaw. I didn't turn around. "Your mother's death was a lie!"


	36. I Killed Her

I stopped dead in my tracks, almost crashing with Cyclops who was walking behind me. I turned and looked at Shaw.

"Are you that desperate?" I said.

"I'm not lying," he said. "You don't know the truth."

My body was telling me- no, screaming at me- to walk away and not listen to anything he had to say. Yet, I found myself walking toward him.

"So what did happen?" I asked, intertwining my arms across my chest. I stopped walking with about ten feet in between us.

"_Rebecca, don't…_"

"I killed her."

Professor Xavier's voice suddenly left my mind as his shock absorbed him and mine absorbed me.

"Your mother didn't run to try and save you," said Shaw. "She was a smart woman; do you think she would run toward an electrical storm? She knew you wouldn't hurt yourself."

A large lump formed in my throat and I was finding it hard to catch my breath.

"She was running for the door; she was behind the rest of us. I knew with her out of the way I would get what I wanted without question. I saw my chance and took it. I pushed her into the lightning."

"Just stop," I said, almost laughing as denial flooded my system. "You're pathetic! Is this your final attempt at trying to take me to your side? Because if it is, you're doing a hell of a job."

"You don't believe me?"

I held my stance. "No, I don't. I killed her: on accident, but nonetheless. I accepted that fact a long time ago."

Shaw said nothing, but instead he turned to Emma. She nodded and turned to me.

All of a sudden I was in my house. I was sitting in my living room, my parents sitting on the couch to the right of me.

"You're making me go with him?" The five year-old me charged around the corner.

I watched the events unfold through Shaw's eyes as he got more excited as I got angrier. Then, the room became blazing hot and my small eyes were enveloped in a bright yellow film.

My parents jumped up and my dad began to sprint toward the door. Mom stood there for a minute as Shaw began to head for the door as well until a lightning bolt hit the wall a foot away from her head.

Then, Shaw stopped running. He turned toward Mom as she ran toward him. He held his hand out, as if to help her to the door. Instead, when she grabbed it, he swung her around – and with the help of some stored energy – he pushed her across two rooms and her body came to an unnatural halt as her back arched when the lightning surged through her.


	37. Sand Turned to Glass

My hands gripped the sand as my eyelids squeezed even tighter shut. I had collapsed to my knees during the projection and I hadn't noticed I had begun to cry until tears fell onto my bare knees. My head was down, my face bent toward the sand.

The beach was silent as the images faded; everyone froze in their positions as they watched the events unfold.

"You!" I yelled, my voice shaking. "You killed her. You ended her life. Murderer."

My breathing calmed and moved in an even rhythm.

"You killed her."

The sand in my hand turned into clear, hard glass. I lifted my head and my eyes opened. But I saw nothing. All I saw was yellow.

My hands snapped open as I raised myself to my feet. Energy surged around me as the lightning released itself. The ring of electricity formed around me and I was corralled off from everyone else; I stood alone in the middle of the beach. Suddenly, I felt two forces enter my mind almost simultaneously.

"_Rebecca, listen to me_." Shaw's voice echoed through my head as Emma sent it to me. "_This- this anger – you can use your anger to take other lives- balance out the loss of your mother. Get your revenge. Come with me_."

I didn't agree with a word he said, yet I felt the lightning strengthen with his words.

I expected the professor to debate Shaw's words with his own, but instead he showed me his argument.

I was peeking around the wall into my living room and watched Mom argue with Shaw about my future.

"The strategies to control a mental ability are very different from the strategies needed to control a physical one," said Shaw.

"Maybe she can create her own," argued Mom. "If she works because of her will to do well she can accomplish anything she wants."

As I watched the memory and Mom's statement sunk in, I felt myself beginning to calm down. The yellow over my eyes lightened a shade and I was able to see, although everything was still blurry and butter colored.

I watched as the spastic bolts jumping from my palms came together to form one controlled bolt on each hand. The yellow finally washed away completely and I watched with clear eyes as I finally gained control.

I smiled widely as I watched the electricity flowed smoothly from my hands. Both the Hellfire Club and the X-Men stared at me. The X-men stared at me with pride and the Hellfire Club stared at me with sheer terror.

I curved my hands into fists and the lightning disappeared. I opened them again, and on my command, a small bolt came out of my palm. I smiled.

My smile faded as I looked up at Shaw. He looked at me in defeat- he knew that I had controlled myself because of the will to make my mom proud and he wasn't going to reverse that. He had lost.

I dropped my arms to my side and began to walk toward him. The Hellfire Club backed away, leaving the two of us alone in the center of the beach. As I came up to him, I saw his right hand was behind his back.

"You let me believe that I had killed her for ten years," I said. "I blamed you, yeah, but I thought whole heartedly that it was my fault. And for ten years you said nothing. So why today? Why did it happen to be on the tenth anniversary of her death when you decide to finally tell the truth?"

I paused, but not long enough to let him answer.

"If you wanted rage, I continued, "why didn't you just tell me years ago? You could've saved a lot of your time."

"You were too young. I didn't want to hurt you." His voice was soft.

"You bastard." I threw my heated hand out and slapped him across the face. His head distorted as he absorbed the force of my hit. His backed himself into a tree half a foot behind him so I couldn't throw him back. I usually would've hated the fact that my slap did nothing, but at that moment I didn't care. My adrenaline was spiking and my anger was as furious as it could get. I moved forward the six inches.

"But you know what?" I went on still. "Nothing would have changed even if you told me before. I still wouldn't have gone with you, even if you were the one to help me control it."

"You wouldn't have had a choice," he growled.

I slapped him again and noticed his arm came out from behind him. As my hand retreated back to my side, I shook my head sharply as I suddenly became drowsy.

As I focused on myself, I realized my entire system was fading. My vision had begun to blur and my muscles began to ache. My heart started to beat faster and my breathing became strained. Then, an acute pain radiated across my side. I lifted the edge of my shirt and a large, red circle tattooed my side.

I slowly looked up from my skin and Shaw brought his hand up to his hip. Lying in his palm was a silver syringe. Two small drops of a blood red serum dripped from the needle tip. My eyes darted up to his.

"If I can't have you, no one can."

His eyes glared at me, wanting nothing more than to witness me die. I fell to my knees as my muscles failed me and I was holding myself on all fours. With one hand, I took hold of the metal of the syringe and pulled it out of his hand. Then, I thrusted it forward and the needle jammed into Shaw's abdomen, easily ripping through the fabric of his shirt. He screamed and reached for the syringe, slamming his back into the tree. I pushed it further into his side and he grabbed the body of syringe, trying to pull it out. But my grasp on it was stronger.

"I wish this damn thing was full," I said, my voice now breathy as I continued to shut down.

He laughed through his pain. "No, you don't."

I half grunted half-screamed as my arms gave out too. My hairline hit the beach and I turned my hand so my face wasn't lying in the sand.

"Don't…test…me," I struggled to say. "I could rip…this thing…right through…your chest."

He laughed again. "But you won't. You're weak."

I laughed with the little bit of energy I had left. I felt my hips beginning to slack.

"I may…be too weak…to kill someone…but I'm…stronger than you will…ever be."

And with that, I took my last weak breath before my hips collapsed and everything went dark and silent.


	38. A Lasting Effect, I'm Afraid

**Review, readers, review! Thanks!**

As I came into consciousness, I felt the distinct feeling of cold metal pushing against my back. My breathing became faster and my heart jumped with fear.

"Calm down," said Professor Xavier. "You are safe; you are in the mansion."

"_Is Shaw_…?" I asked in my mind.

"Dead. Logan took care of it. It's done." He answered me out loud.

I let a small sound of relief escape my mouth and tried to move my limbs which felt like rocks attached to my torso. When I tried to move, I froze when an intense pain echoed from my side. My sigh of relief became a grunt of pain. I squeezed my eyelids tighter.

Then a wave of dizziness washed over me along with the sudden feeling that I was going to throw up. I went to lift my hands to rub my eyes, but they wouldn't move. As my awareness started to return to me, I felt someone holding my wrists and I felt my right arm against my stomach as if it was stretched across my body.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" Professor Xavier sounded distraught, almost in pain.

I took a deep breath and began to open my eyes. I blinked a few times, but finally got my eyes to open all the way.

I was in a large, simple room and I was staring at the ceiling.

Behind my head was a tray of medical supplies and behind that was a large monitor that displayed my heart rate and blood pressure. Then I looked at myself, lifting my head slightly to look over my body. Like

I felt, my right arm was stretched across my chest. Several wires came out from under the blanket from the leads that were attached to my chest. A small, clear tube ran oxygen up my nasal passages.

To my right, Dr. Grey stood over me, smiling warmly as she fiddled with one of the trays of equipment. To my left was Professor Xavier and his eyes did not seem as confident as usual. He tried to put up a front but I saw right through it. His eyes were red and glassy, and he looked at me with regret and sadness.

"You're alright," he said. "Because of the fast action of Scott and the team, we were able to get you here and give you medical attention before it was too late. You're safe now, I promise."

I looked down and saw that he was holding my fists in both of his hands tightly, holding them down and stopping them from opening.

"What are you doing?" My voice was groggy and scratchy; I figured I was out for at least a couple of days.

Professor Xavier swallowed. "Shaw had a lasting effect on your powers, I'm afraid."

He released my hands and him and Dr. Grey backed away. Confused, I lifted my hands to my chest slowly. I turned my fingers toward the ceiling and opened my fists.

Blazing hot fire almost leaped from my hands and shot toward the ceiling sporadically. I couldn't control it as it went from the ceiling to the walls and then to other trajectories that I had no opinion in choosing. I closed my hands quickly and the fire quenched.

I was breathing heavily, the shock taking over me. My neck hurt as I strained it, trying to keep my head up.

Professor Xavier came back over and gently laid his hand on my forehead, pushing my head down. Then, his hand fell down to my cheek and he wiped a few fallen tears.

"What happened to me?" I said, my voice shaking.

"I'm sad to say that you have lost your control and it has been replaced with anger and pain," he said. "The anger now controls your powers, not you."

I swallowed back more tears.

He took my hand again, but not to hold it down but to offer me comfort.

"You must work twice as hard as you did before to gain back the control you once had," he proposed. "This is an uphill battle you must be fully committed in fighting."

I nodded yes quickly. "I am...I will be."

He smiled. "I know you want to see your friends, but for now it's too dangerous," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," I said. "I understand. I wouldn't want anyone to see me like this anyway. But if you could tell Alex I'm ok?"

He nodded in agreement of my request. While we were speaking, I had gotten myself to support my weight on my elbow and I felt the dizzy sensation beginning to slip away.

Then I heard the sound of rubber sneaker bottoms pounding against the floor to the clinic. Alex ran up to the door and stopped in the doorway.

At first, I smiled at his presence and wanted to run up and hug him. But then my eyes drifted down to my hands, which were now red with the pressure I was using to keep them shut.

"Rebecca, you're awake!" He sounded surprised and very relieved.

He went to take a step forward.

"Alex, wait!" I shouted louder than I wanted to, but I was finding it hard to control anything of mine at the moment.

"Wait," I said softer. "You can't come in."

He stopped with one foot in the door and stared at me with rejected eyes.

"No, I mean I want you to...but...it's not...I'm not..."

"It's not safe," said the professor, finishing my sentence.

He looked at me with slits that were once his eyes as her furrowed his brow. His demeanor changed from relieved to defensive to worried.

"What do you mean it's not safe?"

"I can't..." I found it almost impossible to say. "I can't control my powers."

Alex looked at me as I responded, but his stare quickly returned to Professor Xavier.

"You told me she was going to be fine," he said, almost silently.

"Health wise," said the professor calmly. He didn't let Alex's building anger intimidate him. "I had no idea what affects her trauma would have on her powers."

There was a pause, Alex contemplating on what to do next.

"I can handle it," he said. "I'm not scared."

"Alex, please." I was begging. "For my sanity, go. I can't hurt you."

He looked at me for a good minute, reading my eyes and seeing how dead serious I was. He sighed and walked in a small circle of frustration.

"Fine," he said. "Fine. But when you feel ready to be near people again, I'm first."

I smiled softly. "Deal."


	39. Build You Back Up

Alex glanced over at the professor one more time before he turned and left. I waited until I heard the elevator doors open and close before I laid back down and covered my face with my hands.

"I can't believe that just happened," I said. I groaned loudly, expressing my frustration.

"What do you mean?" asked the professor.

Dr. Grey laughed. "She likes him Professor," she said. "She doesn't exactly want to turn him away."

He nodded slowly. "Oh."

Dr. Grey turned to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Only girls get it," she laughed.

I chuckled softly, but I was afraid to laugh any louder because of my side.

"So how long do I have to stay down here?" I asked.

"For medical reasons, you should probably stay in here for another day for monitoring," said Dr. Grey. "As for your powers, you can stay here until you, the professor and Scott agree that you have enough control to be with the other kids."

I nodded slowly, letting it sink in that I was deemed dangerous. It was unsettling.

"Am I going to be stuck on this metal table the whole time?"

The professor chuckled. "No, we have a much more comfortable, padded hospital bed in the room next door. You can stay there."

I glanced over at a door to my right. There was a silence between the three of us for a minute.

"So," I said, "How _exactly_ did Logan kill Shaw?"

The professor and Dr. Grey laughed.

"What? Decapitation? Stab to the gut?"

The professor laughed out loud, his deep, satisfied chortle echoing off the walls. The contentment he spread felt with his laughter made me think he hadn't laughed in a while.

"Why does it matter?" he said. "Shaw cannot hurt you or anyone else again."

"You have a point...I guess."

He laughed again, but once he calmed down he became very serious. I hadn't noticed until I looked to my right that Dr. Grey had excused herself.

"Now," he said, "there are some things we have to discuss. Your recovery will take time but everyone has said that they will do everything they can to help."

"Tell them I said thanks."

He smiled softly. "The physical training will help you gain some control back, but from where I stand the key to getting back your control is your mind."

"My mind?"

"Yes. Most of the trauma that you experienced that _really_ affected you was mental. Emma Frost broke you down psychologically, little bits at a time. Now we have to build you back up."

I let what he said seep into me. I couldn't help but glance down at the bruises that had begun to heal on my arms.

"The physical pain isn't what got to you in the end," he explained when he noticed where my eyes tracked. "It was hard to endure, but it wasn't what reached your head. The images of your mother and the horrid memories- that's what broke you down."

"How do you undo mental damage? You live with memories forever."

"That's true- you will remember the things you saw. But I was thinking I could help with the pain."

I became very intrigued. "How are you supposed to do that?"

"I was hoping - if you'd allow it - to become a...therapist of sorts."

"You mean like I sit on a couch and talk about my feelings?"

He laughed softly. "Something like that. Except you wouldn't have to say a word."

He put two fingers up to his temple and I smiled as I realized what he meant.

"I can help take away some of the pain associated with the memories from the last week."

"You mean physically taking the pain out of memories?"

"Exactly."

My amazement of his power quickly morphed into apprehension. My smile vanished.

"I don't know. I mean, this isn't an I-got-a -paper-cut pain. This is I-was-mentally-and-physically-tortured pain. If you remove it from my mind, I assume it has to go somewhere and I'm figuring it would go to you."

"You are a very bright girl."

"You don't have to experience what I did! That's just...not right."

"I am volunteering."

"And I'm saying you don't have to."

"Rebecca, listen to me," he persisted. "If I don't do this, you will not get your control back. If you were older, you might have been able to handle this yourself but you are fifteen years old. I know you don't feel that young, but you are. Your mind is too fragile to handle all of what you currently have shoved into your memory center. _That_ is why your control is gone- something had to give."

I stared at him and his eyes delivered nothing but seriousness and the fact that he wasn't going to back down. I sighed heavily.

"I never really had a choice in this, did I?"

He sighed as well. "Not really, no. I probably would have come in while you were asleep if you said no."

I laughed at full volume, forgetting about my swollen side. I clenched it tightly as the pain shot out from its hiding place and faded my laugh to a softer level.

"Why are you so willing to put pain and stress on yourself just to help one person?"

He smiled at me lovingly. "If it helps that one person - even for a few moments - then all the pain and stress is worth it."

I shook my head. "I wish I was as unselfish as you."

His smile turned very warm. "So is that a yes?"

I sighed. "I guess."

His smile widened and he showed off his perfectly aligned teeth. He moved so he was sitting behind my head. I laid my head down.

"So just relax?" I said.

"Yes. But I will warn you that you might feel some of the pain before it dissipates."

"I survived it once I can survive it again."

He took a deep breath and put two fingers on each of my temples. I felt the more painful memories slowly creep to the front of my conscience. My shoulders began to tense as I watched them unfold.

"I'm going to rip his fucking head off!" The hot blaze of my fire screaming out of my palm.

"I killed your mother." Looking up and seeing nothing but yellow. The rage and anger that fueled it.

"Then let the games begin." Shaw's gentle nudge into my shoulder and the hard slam against the metal submarine wall.

All of the memories flashed past my eyes and I couldn't help but to cringe at each one. Then, all of a sudden the pain was just...gone. The images were still there, I knew what emotions they had evoked at the time but all I felt...was relief.

The four sturdy fingers slowly began to shake. Professor Xavier pressed his forehead to mine as he tried to absorb all that he put onto himself. I reached my hands backward and took hold of his.

"You can stop," I said. "Don't put too much on yourself for the first time."

Slowly, I felt the memories he had pressed forward fade into the background and Professor Xavier hesitantly lifted his head. He slipped his hands out from under mine and turned his wheelchair around. I heard sniffling and I saw his fingers reach up to his eyes.

"Professor?" I had sat up and turned myself around, looking at the back of his head.

He sniffled again and slowly turned himself around.

"Wow," he said, lacking his usual British elegance. "That was...unbelievable."

"I'd like to take this moment to say I told you so."

He tried to smile, but the grin never made it to his face.

"I don't really know what I was expecting...but that was not it."

"Yeah." I knew I should've said something more comforting but that was all I could find in my vocabulary that seemed to even remotely fit the situation.

"How do you feel?" he asked, trying to take the attention away from him.

"Oddly...relieved. I mean, I see the bad things and I know what they did to me then, but...it's just in the past now. It's like a memory that you have from when you are two or three. You remember it but you don't recall any of the emotions."

He smiled. "That's fantastic."

"How do you feel?"

He looked down at his immobile legs and brushed at his pants.

"I'll be fine."

"I warned you."

"And I volunteered. I understood what was going to happen."

I chuckled softly. "No you didn't."

For the first time, the professor didn't try to rebuttal.


	40. Check Mate

The professor gathered himself quickly, almost to the point that if someone was to come in they would have no idea that he was ever upset.

Storm came in after being called by the professor to bring me into the other hospital room. I assumed she was chosen because she was the only one who could defend herself if I happened to have another burst. She lifted me gingerly, being careful not to agitate my side which she held tightly against her body. She walked over to the doors to my right and the two metal halves split, opening to a smaller room.

The space looked like any other hospital room. There was a padded, reclining hospital bed in the middle of the room with tubes and gages attached to the wall just above the headboard. There was a large TV on the wall in front of it and to the left of the bed was a stack of different books. Against the wall to the left of the door was a small two-seater table with two plastic chairs pushed into place. Just above the TV was a large clock.

Storm laid me gently into the bed after Professor Xavier moved the sheets and blanket from their crisp, folded position. I fixed myself and pulled the blanket up to my hips.

"So how's this?" said the professor. "Better than the metal table?"

"I'll say."

He chuckled. I looked around the room and my eyes brushed across the clock. I looked at the time and my brow furrowed.

"It's only noon," I said.

"Yes, why?" said Storm.

"Well….what am I supposed to do all day? I mean, I see there are books here and there's a TV which I'm sure has plenty of channels but I think I might go mad not having any human contact."

Professor Xavier thought for a moment. "Storm, would you mind going upstairs and fetching something for me?"

"No, not at all."

He finished the rest of his request telepathically and I was forced to wait until she got back to know what the object was. Storm excused herself to go get whatever he asked for and Professor Xavier came to the edge of the bed.

Professor turned himself so his legs were facing the bed and then placed both of his hands firmly on the arms of his wheelchair. Then, like a skilled gymnast, he lifted himself up and supported himself just by the strength of his arms. He effortlessly turned himself around and backed up onto the edge of the bed. I moved my legs out of the way and he scooted back until he was sure he wouldn't fall. His torso was turned toward me but his legs were angled away and his dangled off the edge of the bed, his feet gently brushing the ground.

It was odd seeing Professor Xavier out of his wheelchair. For some reason, while he was sitting on my bed I expected him to just get up and walk around. Not being in the wheelchair, he looked like nothing was wrong with him. He looked…unharmed.

"Can you bring that table over?"

His request shook me out of my trance and my eyes reluctantly pulled away from his legs. I reached out to my left and pulled the over-the-bed table to us and placed it in the middle of us. As we sat with the table dividing us, I noticed that the professor would have to turn his body in a quite uncomfortable position to reach the table. I pulled my legs up and sat in Indian style.

"Move over," I said.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, my legs don't hurt."

He glanced down at my legs and then moved so he was directly across from me. He grabbed each of his legs and laid one of them on the side of the bed and the other folded in front of him.

"So what are we doing?" I asked.

"One of my favorite things on this planet." He smiled and looked toward the door.

I heard the elevator ding and Storm walked back in. She came into the room and in her hands was a good sized, square black and white checkered board. Sitting on top of that was a small wooden box. Whatever was in the box was rolling around and making a lot of clacking noises.

"Chess?"

"Yes, chess," said the professor. "I've been playing since I was a boy."

"I don't know how to play, though."

He eyed me slyly. "I am a teacher, you know. I can teach you."

I eyed him back and then glanced at the board which was slowly being set up as he put the pieces in their places.

"Fine. But I'm warning you, once I get the hang of it I'll beat you."

"I don't know about that." commented Storm. "We've been trying to beat him for years."

The professor chuckled. "I've just had lots of practice."

Storm smiled and left the two of us alone. Once he finished setting up the board, he went over each piece and told me what they were called, what they did and then he mentioned a few beginner strategies for me to try.

We began our first game and he coached me through many of the moves. Then, about halfway through, while the professor was staring at his pawns, his index and middle fingers flashed up to his temple.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's nothing," he said. "Alex is just a bit mad at me right now."

"Mad? Why?"

"He's upset that I won't let him see you but I'll allow myself to be here."

I hadn't thought about that until then. "Oh, yeah! Isn't this dangerous for you?"

I felt my hands unconsciously turn to fists. The professor smiled at me.

"Open your palm," he said.

My shoulders flinched up as I was caught in surprise.

"Excuse me, what?"

"I don't believe I stuttered."

A small smile emerged. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

I glanced down at my hands and then back at him.

"I really don't want to burn the place down."

"Rebecca, do you trust me?"

I stared at him. He played the trust card. He knew I wasn't going to argue that.

I sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"Then please open your palm."

I sighed again and reached my right hand out as far away from us as I could get it. I took a deep breath and slowly unclenched my fingers. A small flame spurted out of my hand, but as I concentrated, the flame fizzled. My pale palm faced the ceiling and nothing happened.

I smiled, letting out a small laugh of victory.

"If I can do that then why can't I see him?" I asked, still staring at my palm.

"Because it's taking almost all of your concentration just to hold it back."

I flashed a glance at him and then let my conscious drift and focus on myself. I realized I was staring fervently at my hand, making sure with all my might that the fire didn't rise up. I even began to give myself a headache. I fisted my hand and put it in my lap.

"I see your point," I said.

He smiled softly. "You'll be able to see him very soon," he said. "And knowing your determination I think it will be much sooner than you think."

I smiled. "Alright." I paused. "Now, where can the knight go again?"


	41. Just a Dream

As I came into consciousness, I felt the distinct feeling of cold metal pushing against my back. My breathing became faster and my heart jumped with fear.

"Calm down. You're safe."

My heart skipped with fear. The voice that repeated those once comforting words was deep and husky with a hint of maliciousness that couldn't be feigned. As I blinked my eyes open, Shaw stood over me and held my wrists tightly in his large, coarse hands.

"You're in the mansion."

My eyes flashed to my right and instead of Doctor Grey standing there warmly, Emma Frost took their place.

"Wha...?" I struggled to find words.

"Your friends are dead."

My head whipped around and I saw the lump of a man on the ground who was once Professor Xavier. A large pool of blood framed his head.

Then, I looked behind Emma and Dr. Grey lied there lifeless, her eyes still open.

"And you," Shaw smiled as he raised his hand, "are next."

I screamed and bolted upright in the bed. I was dripping in sweat and my cheeks were soaked in tears. My hands gripped the sheets of the hospital bed and my breathing was extremely erratic. I forced myself to breathe deeply, slowly calming myself down.

"It's just a dream," I whispered to myself. "It was just a dream."

It was just another one of the many nightmares associated with Shaw that I had experienced over the last few days. As the professor said, "it's just another part of the mental healing. You're brain doesn't know what to do with all the pain so it distributes wherever it can".

"When will they go away?" I had asked.

"When your mind feels truly safe."


	42. I'm Not Going Anywhere

**Finally! I posted! Sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait- life called! I hope you enjoy this and oh! I started a new story featuring Rebecca- a X-Men/Doctor Who Crossover featuring Rebecca, Alex, Professor Xavier and the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant ahh!)! I hope you take a look!**

The next day began my physical training with Cyclops and Storm. After three days of constantly working with them, my confidence climbed and I felt much more comfortable in my own body. My control over my powers was slowly returning and I was now at the point where I could aim the trajectories of my attacks with amazing precision.

Along with the physical training, Professor Xavier and I continued to meet twice a day. But, after the first couple of times, he stopped taking the pain away and started to teach me to live with it.

"Everyone needs to live with some pain," he said to me. "It makes us remember our mistakes so we don't make them again."

I was sitting in my hospital room, carefully analyzing the chess board the professor and I had begun earlier that day. I was staring at the position of the pawns, trying to figure out his game plan.

"When did you become such a nerd?"

I jerked my head up in surprise and saw Alex leaning against the doorway.

"Hey," I laughed, "chess is a game that makes you think; it's not nerdy."

He cocked his head, but said nothing in return. He walked over to my bed and sat down next to my hip.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good," I smiled. "I'm getting better."

"Good."

There was a bit of silence.

"How did you know you could…"

"The professor told me it was safe," he said, answering my unfinished question.

"Oh."

Another moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out.

He jerked back, caught by surprise by my sudden admission.

"What? Why?"

"I pushed you away when I probably needed you the most. Plus, I didn't even think about what you were feeling- you hadn't seen me in a week; you probably thought I was dead until Professor Xavier found me.

He laughed softly. I stopped rambling and took a deep breath.

"What I'm saying is…everything has been so chaotic recently and everything's changed. So…" I had to prepare myself for what I had set myself up to say.

"If you don't want us to be us anymore I'll understand. I mean, you don't have to go through this with me. We've really own each other for a few days."

He turned so he faced me head on.

"Do you not want to be together?"

"No…I…I just…romance is probably the last thing on my mind at the moment."

He nodded.

"Do you still like me?"

The back of my head pressed against the pillow. "What?"

"Do you still like me?"

I sighed. "Of course I do."

"Well I still like you too."

"Even after everything that's happened?"

He laughed at my innocent worry. "It wasn't your fault." He paused. "So you have some crap. Who cares? I have crap too so I understand."

I laughed as he scooted closer so he was sitting next to my stomach.

"I officially welcome you to the world of crap loaders and you and I can make fun of the other crap loaders together…when you're ready."

Alex glanced down and took my hands in his.

"I'm not going anywhere."


	43. Upstairs

Later that day, I was working on lightning control with Storm. We had just finished putting the touches on my new hand formation.

After a very difficult – and dangerous – trial and error session, we discovered that if I face my palm up, curl my pinkie and ring finger in and press my thumb tightly against the side of my palm, the lightning that comes from my two outstretched fingers is perfectly controlled.

I was sweating, the back of my tank top clinging tightly to my skin. The bunker was hot from the several hours of training and sweat dripped down my cheeks.

"_Rebecca, please meet me in my office_," requested the professor.

"_May I shower first_?"

He chuckled mentally. "_Of course_."

"I have to go," I said out loud. "The professor calls."

Storm laughed softly. "Ok, we were just about finished anyway. Good work."

I shouted a thank you as I ran out the door and went up the stairs to the basement floor. I ran to the showers and rinsed myself off. I changed into a pair of clean sweat pants and a plain t-shirt. I left the bathroom and went to the elevator. I pressed the up button, but then my heart accelerated and my muscles went cold.

"_Wait_," I said. "_Your office is upstairs_."

"_Yes, I'm aware_."

"_You want me to go up_?"

"_I do_."

"_Are you sure_?"

"_I wouldn't tell you to unless I knew it was safe_."

I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax as the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside and pressed the one button. The elevator moved slowly and I fisted my hands at my sides. The elevator beeped and the doors retracted.

I stepped into the paneled hallway and everything seemed shockingly normal. Kids walked from class to class; no one even seemed to notice I was there. I let my shoulders fall from next to my ears and walked to the professor's office.

"Hello," he said as I walked in.

"Hi." I closed the door behind me and took a seat.

"You can relax your hands."

I looked down and my knuckles were white with pressure.

"Oh, um…"

"You haven't had a random burst from your hands since the day you woke up," he said, catching my apprehension. "So go on- open your hands."

I looked at him sternly. Then, I gazed down at my hands and slowly unclenched my fingers. My palms felt the cool air conditioning and nothing happened. Even though I knew this would happen, that nothing would happen, it never failed to make me smile.

"It's back," I said.

"Some of it yes," said the professor. "So much so that I believe you may come back upstairs."

I looked up at him, surprise written across my face.

"Really?"

"Really." He smiled at me. "Your room is untouched, so you can go straight there if you'd like."

"I'm not dangerous anymore?"

"No."

I smiled and I felt a rush as my self-confidence came flooding back to me.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

I smiled, left his office and ran to my old room.


	44. Don't Want to Be Alone

I spent the whole rest of the day just walking around the mansion, enjoying my newly returned freedom. I introduced myself to every kid that walked by, shaking their hands eagerly.

At dinner, I sat with Alex in our original seats. Kids stared at me, but I was just glad I could be in the same room so they could stare.

I spent the evening in the rec room with Alex and a few other kids. Around eleven, we all headed to our separate rooms for the night. I got dressed in my pajamas, turned my main light off, turned my lamp on and stood next to my bed.

The blanket was folded away from the pillow and rested against the footboard. The way it was just thrown away, pushed away, reminded me of Azazel standing over me, the terror only beginning.

I felt the fear creep up on me and the fact that I was afraid of my own bed made me even more terrified. I took a step back from the bed and crossed my arms tightly against my chest. I slowly backed away and opened the door, continuing to watch the bed, waiting for a plume of red smoke to appear. I backed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

I turned my back to the door and took a deep breath, brushing the hair out of my eyes. Then, I found myself walking quickly toward Professor Xavier's room.

I reached the two doors leading into his room and stopped. Angst filled my heart as my hand hung in mid-air in front of the door knob. I had never been in his bedroom before and I felt almost as if I was invading his personal space, the one place where his students didn't bother him. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go in.

"_You can come in_," I heard softly in my mind.

My hand moved to the door knob, turned it and the door creaked open.

"What can I help you with?" he asked sweetly.

I walked into the room and almost smiled. The professor sat in his bed, the covers pulled over his legs snuggly. His lamp was on and filled the room with a warm light. He was holding a hefty looking book.

"I, um…." I laughed, embarrassed. "I feel uncomfortable being alone…at night."

He looked at me with loving eyes. "You're safe now. You know that."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know what came over me, but I'm just…scared."

"She can stay with me."

I turned around and Alex was standing in the doorway, his eyes focused on me.

"I can fit another bed in my room," he said.

I turned back to the professor, smiling.

"That could work," I said. "Having someone there."

Professor Xavier's eyes shifted from me to Alex and back to me as he thought about what to do. He sighed deeply through his nose.

"Ok."

I smiled. "Thank you!"

I turned around and Alex was smiling too, his dimples spreading across his cheeks.

I shouted more thank you's toward the professor as I hugged Alex and we went back to our rooms. We went into my room first and the two of us lifted the bed and brought it into his room.

"Here," said Alex, "you can put your bed next to mine."

We turned the bed ninety degrees and placed it down or so to the right of Alex's. Once we set it down, we pushed the headboard against the wall.

"So," he said, brushing his hands off, "you're officially my new roommate."

I smiled as I took a seat on my bed and he sat on his. We began to talk an once we started, we didn't stop. We talked long into the night- I lost count of how many times I had to bite into my pillow to prevent myself from laughing too loudly.

Around two in the morning, I moved from my bed to his. As the night went on, we ended up lying down together- Alex laid on his back and I snuggled up against his chest, using his arm around my shoulder as a head rest.

As I continued listening to him talk, his heartbeat began to slowly morph into the melody of a lullaby. I felt my eyelids turn heavy and the sound of his voice grew quiet as the constant beats sent me to sleep. That was the first night I wasn't woken up by nightmares.


	45. Free

Two months had passed since my kidnapping. With the help of Cyclops, the professor, Alex and Storm, I gained almost all of my control back, and I was very close to having it all. Nightmares finally began to fade away and no bruises marked me. The only evidence that something went on those two months ago was the scar on my arm.

It was midafternoon, and most of the kids were heading to lunch from their last class. Instead of going to the cafeteria, I went in the other direction and found myself in front of the professor's office. I knocked softly.

"Come in," he bellowed.

I opened the door and sat down in the leather seat I had sat in so many times I had lost count. The office seemed so comfortable to me now that it was almost abnormal to me that I didn't end up bringing something of mine in there to signify that it was my territory.

"Hey Professor," I started. I shifted my hands into my pockets and my nerves suddenly became very noticeable. "I have a really big favor to ask of you."

"Let's hear it."

He moved so he was sitting in front of me and he folded his hands on his lap.

"Well, I want to let you know first that you don't have to say yes; a part of me is already thinking that I'm overstepping, but I have to try…"

"Rebecca." The professor stopped me and smiled. "Just ask."

I took a long, deep breath. "I want to be emancipated from my dad. To do that, I need to be released into someone's custody, and I was hoping that person could be you. You've been more of a dad to me than my biological one, and I was just hoping…"

"Yes."

I cocked my head, surprise and joy flooding my system. "Yes?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Oh my God…Oh my God, thank you so much!" I jumped up from my chair and threw myself into the professor's arms, hugging him like I had never hugged anyone else before. The happiness that flowed out of me was ridiculous- I didn't even know that kind of elation existed.

I released my grasp and stood in front of him. "Oh, and there's one more thing I'd like you to sign off on."

"What's that?"

"While we're at City Hall, I would like to legally change my last name. I can't live the rest of my life with the last name Shaw. I can't even think about it without the urge to either throw up or go cry in a corner."

"What would you like to change it to?"

"Mason."

"May I ask why?"

I smiled softly. "It was my mother's maiden name."

That night, we went to City Hall and had all of the paperwork signed by the professor- the emancipation papers were already signed by my father- he gladly signed me away after I told him I was responsible for the death of Shaw. I was officially let go from my past. I was free.


	46. You Would Be Surprised

The next day, I was sitting in the kitchen, laughing with Alex and his friends who he finally introduced me to.

"I'm dead serious," cackled Sean, the red head who had glanced at us in the dining hall the first night I was there. "He seriously pushed me off a satellite dish!"

We all laughed out loud, falling back into our seats.

"_Ms. Mason_," called the professor, "_please meet me in my office_."

"Crap, guys, I've got to go," I said. I pushed my chair back and stood.

"Why? What's the matter?" asked Alex.

"Nothing, the professor just wants to talk."

"Maybe you failed your biology test," joked Sean.

"Well I won't know until I go, so I'll see you later. And I rocked that quiz."

Alex didn't let go of my hand until he couldn't reach any farther. I smiled at him and walked to the professor's office.

"Hey," I said casually. "What's up?"

"Take a seat," he said.

I noticed the serious undertone he spoke with and did what he said.

"You've come a long way in two months," he said, smiling. "You've gained nearly all of your control back and with that you have been able to control your lightning."

I smiled as he mentioned my achievements. It was true- I was basically back to normal. If I opened my palms, I thought nothing of it. Plus, I could now direct where I wanted the lightning to go with the help of the new hand formation.

"But," he said, "there is a catch."

"What?"

"You have gained nearly all of your control back."

"Ok…"

"But gaining back the missing piece is not as easy as it sounds. Our previous methods will not be able to help you. Actually, we won't be able to help you at all."

I sat forward in my chair. "What do you mean?"

"You, all by yourself, on your own will, must forgive Sebastian Shaw. Or at least put it behind you."

I almost laughed out loud. "Are you serious?"

"If you don't, a part of your powers will forever be controlled by your anger toward him."

"He killed my mother, kidnapped me and then tried to kill me too! How exactly am I supposed to forgive him?"

"You have to find your own way. But I do have an idea."

"Go ahead, please."

"The pain you feel most people cannot relate to. Even I can't and I have felt it. The difference is I did not experience it. But I know one other who has."

I sat back in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You are not the first to go through Shaw's torture."

"Who's the other?" I spoke quickly now, excited that I might meet someone else who knew the agony I knew.

"His name is Erik Lensherr."

Erik Lensherr. I knew that name. I knew I had heard it before. It took me a minute before I figured it out.

"Wait. Wait a minute. Isn't that Magneto?"

He nodded. "It is."

I scoffed. "You want me to talk to Magneto?"

"He is the only other person in this world that knows your pain. If you two speak, maybe he can help you reach the point of forgiveness. He has."

"Ok, so, he's been tortured by Shaw. I'm so sorry." I suddenly became very defensive. "But other than that, how else can he relate to me?"

"Oh, you would be surprised."

I swiveled around to see a young man leaning against the doorframe. He was tall and had a sharp, square jaw. His brown hair was combed back and he wore a black turtleneck covered by a brown leather jacket.

"You and I are alike in more ways than you know."

**So that's it guys! The end of X-Men: Avatar! But don't worry! Rebecca's story is far from over and will continue on in X-Men Avatar: The Next Chapter. I hope you guys thoroughly enjoyed reading this; I sure enjoyed writing it! See you in The Next Chapter!**


	47. Author's Note

Hello faithful readers! For those of you who don't know yet, the sequel to this story, called X-Men Avatar: The Next Chapter, is already uploaded! You can find it here: s/7575909/1/XMen_Avatar_The_Next_Chapter and I swear I will be uploading more chapters soon! And for those of you who have already been reading it, I am truly sorry for the VERY long wait for chapters; I've been spending a lot of time on new fanfictions I've thought of (check them out on my profile!), but I will be writing some chapters for this story this week. Thank you all for staying with me and Rebecca, and I hope you like the next chapter in her story.

Bakstar1996 :D


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